Vivants

In partnership with the MAPS Agency, the Institut presents to Amiens’ Hortillonnages the series ALIVE by Matthieu Gafsou, created in 2020 during his residency in the region.

Echoing the natural setting of the Hortillonnages, the photographer invites us to rediscover the work of farming and animal husbandry and to appreciate the heritage of living things.

“The separation between Nature and Culture is one of the pillars defining our modern society. Paradoxically, this separation has symbolically sanctioned the destruction of our natural environment, which has been designated as the ‘Other.’ In the face of the ecological crisis, new forms of social practices are emerging, particularly in agriculture. They combat the devastating effects of intensive farming (soil depletion, biodiversity loss, pollution) and advocate for a redefinition of the current economic system. (…) These photographs are a personal testimony to a relationship with living things grounded in gentleness. Through this approach, I seek to shift the epistemological crisis unfolding today—rethinking humanity’s place within the living world—into the realm of the sensory. ” 

Matthieu Gafsou