broken forest

The series is an invitation to wander in a forest after a stormy night. This forest is my forest… the one I know almost by heart. For, I visit it several times a week, when I need to breathe, feel or mourn. I know its inhabitants and their discrete trails and shelters. I know its venerable trees personally. They are like dear companions that I respectfully greet during my walks. I took their portraits so many times with my camera. The calm after the storm is a unique moment to walk in the forest. It transports you in an uncanny atmosphere where the light timidly unveils the many fissures and fractures, wounds and injuries the trees have suffered throughout the night. Sometimes, one even stumbles over an uprooted corpse. This one could not resist the strong winds and their devastating gusts. This series is part of an independent long term project on the impact of human activities on forests. In particular, it focuses on the effects of climate change on trees which over the last decades have been made more vulnerable to harsh conditions like heavy storms or heatwaves. Through my photography I seek to bring the viewers and myself as close as possible of the trees and allow us to feel the texture of their wounded bark, trunk and branches. This intimate sensorial experience is pursued through the use of close-ups on organic matter. The square format reinforces this animistic experience as it directs the gaze into the heart of these extraordinary forms of life.