What do your photos of the Pyrenees tell us?
For the past four or five years, I’ve been working on ancient forests—areas of exceptional natural integrity located in the Pyrenees. These are forests that haven’t been logged for at least 200 or 300 years and have returned to a completely stable, truly wild state. I’ve been following a British scientist, Jonathan Carruthers-Jones, who maps these areas of high natural integrity in the region. At first, I often accompanied him to check camera traps or sound recorders. I really got hooked; I found these places extraordinary and decided to focus my photography on this subject. I use high-natural-integrity maps to locate the forests that interest me.
Are there many pristine sites in the Hautes-Pyrénées?
There are about ten of them—areas that aren't very large. I try to reach the most remote, pristine spots possible. But by their very nature, these places are extremely hard to access. It’s a challenge figuring out how to get in using maps and following animal tracks. It’s like a treasure hunt off the beaten path—and a personal journey, too—to penetrate the heart of these areas.
How do you use these photos?
I’ve created a performance piece featuring these photos and two female musicians, blending classical music with contemporary *musique concrète*. I work with the images live, alongside materials I’ve gathered from the old-growth forests—things like stones and moss—incorporating all these elements in sync with the music.
And what story do you want to tell through this subject matter?
What I want to tell—what *we* want to tell—is primarily about the sensation of completely wild spaces. Pure, intense, and frightening. Places towering above us, where we don’t belong. Ecological corridors for nature and wildlife, because there is no one else there, no trails.
Are ancient forests a good subject for photography?
For me, it is an extremely complex subject. Photographing a single tree is already complicated; a forest is even more so, with avalanche paths and trees piled on top of one another. It is incredibly difficult to frame a shot or focus one’s eye on these areas. Especially since we all have preconceived notions about forest photography. I want to find a unique approach—something that is truly mine and reflects what I feel when I am there.
Does your work as a gardener sharpen your photographic eye?
Gardening gives me the freedom to think—to reflect on my photography. It is an extremely physical job that allows my mind to wander. It also creates a balance between the two activities, a continuity in observing how natural balances play out, whether in a garden or in a completely wild landscape. Working with the land is part of our DNA.
Kilometer 0
For us, Kilometer 0 is the starting point of the D7 departmental road,
explains Rémi Lesclauze. A marker at the edge of an ancient forest, symbolizing the start of a journey from a place that holds significance for our region and the Pyrenees.
It is the beginning of a journey that combines Remi Lesclauze’s "virgin forest" imagery—presented via VJing—with music by Cécile Thévenot and Hélène Colin, offering the audience a tour of these pristine landscapes. The show is ready following a residency with the Traverse association in Bagnères-de-Bigorre; now, the team simply needs to find programmers to showcase the result by the summer.