Photography questions man’s relationship with his environment and his role in the destruction of the planet. The proof in the two exhibitions presented as part of the Rencontres d’Arles 2022.
Rencontres d’Arles 2022 has two main themes, one feminism through the prism of representation, the other ecology with eight exhibitions that question our connection with the earth, the trees, the first peoples. “Man is the first center of attention, but nature is also in the center of attention. it’s impossible to imagine one without the other,” says Rencontres d’Arles director Christoph Wiesner. Latin America is represented in several exhibits.
Diving in Mapuche territory
“Geometric forests. Struggles in the Mapuche Territory” (1), the Franco-Chilean collective Ritual Dweller (Tito Gonzales Garcia, Florencia Grisanti) transports the visitor to the forests of Aracaunia in the south of the country. Industrial exploitation there, in the form of logging forests to supply the paper industry, is pushing the Mapuche community (literally, People of the Earth) further and further away from their territory. For two centuries, this people has been fighting against the exploitation of the natural resources of their native land. Photographic research shows the consequences of forest monoculture (pines and eucalyptus), such as the disappearance of medicinal plants of the Mapuche shamans. Beyond this issue, Ritual Unhabitual’s work offers a reflection on our consumption and its impact on the environment.
Tree portraits
It should be noted that next to this exhibition in the chapel of Mejan, Lea Habourdin’s “Images-Forêts. The exhibition entitled “Worlds in extension” (2). The 34-year-old photographer begins with the observation that the primary forests that appeared on our planet 380 million years ago are in danger, the human species is gradually disappearing them. Traveling for two years through the protected sites and forests of France, he produced portraits of trees that celebrated the beauty of the forests. He chose a non-toxic, non-polluting printing technique to represent them. This uses chlorophyll extracted from flowers and plants to stabilize the images. But these prints change when exposed to daylight, moving through the entire chromatic range during the summer until they disappear. Giving way to the magic of images to the consequences of human actions. A look at volatility…
(1) “Geometric forests. Struggles in Mapuche Territory,” Ritual Uncommon, Chapelle Saint-Martin du Méjan, through September 25.
(2) “Images-Forêts. expanding worlds’, Léa Habourdin, Croisière, until 25 September.
Source: Le Figaro
