Après l’été

WHEN YOU GROW UP FACING THE SEA, THE FEELING OF THE OCEAN NEVER GOES AWAY.

WHAT IMPRESSED ME THE MOST WHEN WE SETTLED ON THE BASQUE COAST WAS THE LIGHT AND DIFFERENT CHANGES OF ATMOSPHERE,

WHICH PROVED TO BE EVEN STRONGER OFF-SEASON.

UNLIKE A TRIP, WHERE WE ARRIVE AT A DESTINATION WITH A BLANK GAZE; WALKING THE STREETS OF A FAMILIAR ENVIRONMENT BECOMES A CHALLENGE.

CONFRONTING YOURSELF DAILY WITH THE SAME DETAILS AND ATMOSPHERES, EVERYTHING CAN SEEM ALMOST TOO BANAL TO BE INTERESTING.

IT IS PRECISELY THIS CHALLENGE THAT INTERESTED ME: THE SIMPLICITY OF THINGS, THE FASCINATING AESTHETIC OF EVERYDAY LIFE.

MY EXPLORATION WAS EXCLUSIVELY BY FOOT FOR A SPECIFIC TIME, AND I NOTICED THAT I ALWAYS STAYED WITHIN A 4KM* RADIUS OF MY HOME.

THIS RITUAL BECAME A JOURNEY WITH IMAGINARY BOUNDARIES, LEAVING FREE REIN TO INTUITIONS AND CHANCE AS I WALKED.

UNINTENTIONALLY, I POLARIZED MY ETERNAL SOURCES OF INSPIRATION: ARCHITECTURE, CINEMA AND LITERATURE; REMINDING ME OF GEORGE PEREC

AND WHAT HE CALLED “L’INFRA-ORDINAIRE”.

DISCOVERING CHARACTERS’ ATTITUDES FROM THE IMAGES I JUST TOOK HAD BECOME A DAILY PLEASURE WHEN I CAME BACK FROM A DAY OF SHOOTING.

APRES L ÉTÉ (“AFTER SUMMER”) IS NOT A PROJECT ABOUT EMPTINESS, BUT RATHER WHAT IS AROUND IT AND WITHIN IT.

IT’S ABOUT OBSERVING A FRAGMENT OF REALITY AS I SEE AND FEEL IT, WITHOUT THE PRETENSION OF TELLING ANY OTHER STORY THAN THE ONE

YOU CAN MAKE YOURSELF BY LOOKING AT THE PHOTOGRAPHS.

WHAT WE REALLY SEE AND WHAT WE DISCOVER OVER TIME, SIMPLY BY OBSERVING CLOSER.

R.B.

*4KM IS THE TOTAL DISTANCE FROM COPACABANA BEACH WHERE I LIVED DURING MY TEENS IN RIO DE JANEIRO.