They each take a different look at the fires of summer 2022 which ravaged nearly 29,000 hectares of forest in Gironde. The collective of photographers LesAssociés documents this social and environmental catastrophe in a long-term project entitled “600 degrees”, which is the subject of an exhibition in Bordeaux.
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With their foot on their shoulder, cameras and lenses in a shoulder bag, Alexandre Dupeyron and Joël Peyrou have been regularly crisscrossing the Hostens estate since the fires of summer 2022. They are tracking down the perfect image. In this forest which still has a few trees, small plants are gradually growing back. Nature burned alive is gradually reborn from its ashes.
The ground is still burning
“We still have a forest landscape here, which is not necessarily the case in other fire zones,” explains Alexandre Dupeyron. “We have stumps, we have moss, we have elevation, we have a lot of water. There are also fumaroles.”
Fumaroles. It only takes a few minutes of walking to see them. The ground is still burning in this former lignite quarry. “It’s a smoke that is complicated to grasp, testifies in turn Joël Peyron. We are 18 months away from the 2022 fires and the fire is here.”
The collective of photographers LesAssociés documents the devastating consequences of the fires of summer 2022 in Gironde
The collective of photographers LesAssociés documents the devastating consequences of the fires of summer 2022 in Gironde
(France 3 Aquitaine)
600 degrees like the ground temperature in Hostens
The two photographers are part of the LesAssociés collective. While the media news has moved on to other fronts, that the fires of La Teste and Landiras no longer make headlines, this group of seven photographers (which also includes Elie Monferier, Alban Dejong, Olivier basket des Touches, Michaël Parpet and Hervé Lequeux) decided to take the time to examine this episode and tell the stories of those who experienced these historic events.
Between two glances through the viewfinder, and a few immersive shots, Alexandre Dupeyron takes the time to explain this project called 600 degrees like the ground temperature in Hostens. “What interests us is to say that the phenomenon we find ourselves facing is not anecdotal and that it is somewhat representative of the societal and environmental issues that we must face.”
Some of us worked on the rebirth of the plant, others were able to work on the portrait, the question of testimony, the question of mourning which can be linked to these post-traumatic situations after a disaster of such magnitude .
Alexandre Dupeyronmember of the LesAssociés collective
The work in progress and the photographs already taken are currently exhibited at the Saint Rémi space in Bordeaux. In this choral story, various photographic and artistic writings intertwine. The exhibition runs until March 17, 2024. A book and a photographic film will be presented to the public in 2025. A necessary work of memory for this territory where nearly 29,000 hectares of forest burned.