Ambroise Tézenas

 Artist residency, Gaspésie, Canada

The Valley
"On the first day, I photographed an abandonned house in the mist. Its caved-in roof made it look like it was taking off. The atmosphere was heavy, the clouds low, and I was trying to better understand the landscapes I was passing through, stopping off at roadside cafes. In Sainte-Florence, a little village in the Matapedia valley, a nondescript couple had been found dead, killed by their grandson, a few years ago. In the villages, the schools are threatened with closure, wherever this has not already occured, and are struggling to survive despite the inexorable desertification. I felt the need to tell myself some stories. I was not to benefit from this border between the land and the Gulf of Saint-Laurent which offers the traveller all aspects of the perfect road trip. The sun that had greeted me was gone, it was raining and the forecast was not optimistic."

La Vallée 
"Le premier jour, je photographie une maison abandonnée dans la brume, avec son toit qui s’écroule on a l’impression qu’elle s’envole. L’ambiance est lourde, le ciel bas,  je cherche à comprendre un peu mieux ces paysages que je traverse, je m’arrête dans des cafés de bords de route. A Sainte Florence, petit village de la Vallée de la Matapédia un couple sans histoires a été retrouvé mort, assassiné par leur petit fils il y a quelques années. Dans les  villages, les écoles sont menacées de fermeture, quand ce n’est pas déjà fait, et luttent pour survivre malgré la désertification inexorable. Je ressens le  besoin de me raconter des histoires. Je ne profiterai pas de cette frontière entre la terre et le Golfe du Saint Laurent qui offre au voyageur tous les éléments du parfait road trip. Le soleil qui m’a accueilli a disparu, il pleut et les prévisions ne sont pas optimistes." 

Artist residency in June 2016 as part of the Franco-Québec Gaspé–Picardy for Photography partnership. Exhibited in 2016 during the Photaumnales Festival in Beauvais, France and in 2017 at the 8th edition of the Rencontres in Québec.