For the last 10 years, I have been photographing part of the small, mysterious Thèze Valley in SW France. Initially interested in the question of, why the composition before me, I started a process of research and interviews, oral histories, that helped develop a picture of an ever-evolving landscape, fashioned from the relationship, and not, of people and place, political, agricultural, social and colonial history. Once an area with seven working water mills and small quarries, it was known as an industrial hub. Now one working quarry and a radical decline in farming practices leads to debates as to uses of land.
Thank-you to every-one who helped with the research.
Pamphlet 'History and Composition of the Thèze Valley' here
