1) I’m interested in your body of work, From Torrent To Current: Dam and Man in Savoy. Could you tell us a little about how this project came to be?
«In 2010, I have been asked by a French cultural foundation (FACIM Foundation) and the main french energy provider (Electricité de France) to make a photographic work on the hydroelectric network of the Beaufortain area, in the French Alps. The assignment consisted in making pictures of the 4 dams of that area, its 10 powerplants, and some portraits of witnesses/actors of the dams’ construction time, still alive today (the oldest dam was build in the 1940’s…). It was a dream commission, as I had total freedom, and absolutely no censorship.»
2) Many of these photographs illustrate a sense of power, both in the the physical landscape of the Alps and in the structures created within that landscape. What was your experience like in photographing these places?
«It was a bit physical, as all those dams are high mountain dams, and as I had to carry a view camera equipment while hiking. During wintertime, road accesses are closed, so it meant hours hiking in snow from the valley. But it was worth the efforts, as I managed to get some views that were rarely seen before. Apart from that, working on those structures was pretty intense. Everything is so huge, monumental, impressive. And being for hours around those dams, most of the time on my own without any human presence around, was a very peculiar experience. They have such a presence. The powerplants are pretty impressive too: my pictures couldn’t show the loud sound and heavy heat they produce, day and night. The views seem silent and serene, but inside the machines room, it’s hell, and even the floor is shaking!»
3) The portraits you made display people who I see as having a bond with the land and with the dams. And you also grew up in this area of the French Alps. Do you yourself feel a type of bond with those you photographed? With the dams?
«Yes I feel very much close to those people, and that helped to get in touch with them and have them being involved in the shooting process. At the end of the day, we are from the same area, so their accent, way of living, thinking, is completely familiar to me. It was like being with my grand-parents. I have memories of the dams from when I was a little girl, even if I grew up in another valley. I remembered the Roselend dam as just pure hugeness, and it still felt the same each I came to shoot for the project.»
4) What’s in store for you in 2011, photographically or otherwise?
«From Torrent To Current… will be published as a monograph later in April at Actes Sud editions (France). Besides, I am having several shows this year, of this work, and of my Maze series (my project about Sami people and their village located in norwegian Lapland): in March in Oslo at the Apartment Gallery, in June in Paris at the EDF Foundation, then in August at the Biennale de Condroz in Belgium, and in September at BoldHype Gallery in NewYork and at the Photaumnales Photo Festival in Beauvais, in French countryside. I’m thrilled!»
5) Last but not least, what’s your favorite color?
«My son’s skin.»
Text by Gregory E. Jones
© All copyright remains with photographer Céline Clanet