Inland Voyage

Photographer Quentin Pruvost follows in the footsteps of the famous Scottish writer Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894) as he traveled down the rivers of northern France in a sail canoe with his friend Walter Simpson in 1876. While for the writer this was an adventure into uncharted territory that inspired one of his earliest works, An Inland Voyage (1878), this project offers the photographer an opportunity to revisit his childhood memories along the Sambre River.

"I am leaving not just my country, but also myself."

Robert Louis Stevenson

The photographic series reveals the river’s rich ecosystem with the same descriptive qualities as Stevenson’s narrative: a unique setting not only for flora and fauna but also for humans. The views of the riverbanks bear witness to the development of how its resources have been utilized over time: dwellings, farming and fishing activities, a navigable waterway equipped with locks, and eventually the establishment of industries.

His depictions of flora and fauna particularly evoke the introspective nature of their shared experience. Quentin Pruvost manages to transform this ordinary natural setting into an exotic, even fantastical forest. The density of the vegetation is emphasized by filling the entire frame of the image, with lighting effects that lend a mysterious quality to the scene. The writer and the photographer thus seem to share this same conception of travel: a timeless experience, conducive to contemplation and imagination.

↘︎ Mentions: A brand-new exhibition by the Institut pour la photographie in partnership with Light Motiv and lille3000 UTOPIA. As part of the latest edition of lille3000 UTOPIA, the CRP/ Regional Center for Photography in Douchy-les-Mines, Château Coquelle in Dunkirk, Destin Sensible in Mons-en-Baroeul, and the Institut pour la photographie in Lille are presenting a photography program centered on the theme of water.