The Gulf of Lion runs from the coastline of Catalonia in Spain to Provence in France.
When I was a child, I would visit this part of France every summer with my parents. Fifteen days of sun and fun on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. The sole vacation abroad, next to the formidable Lion. It was an absolute treat that I would impatiently long for every year. To me everything looked so beautiful, colourful and vibrant compared to my home in Belgium.
I will always cherish the South of France and the Mediterranean Sea. But somehow the colours have faded, the paint has cracked, and some parts look desolate. And I can’t help but think that the sea has turned into a graveyard.
What I used to desire with all my heart now fills me with a sense of loss and sadness.
Le lion a perdu de sa superbe.
Arles, May 2023
This series was created during a workshop led by the highly inspiring photographer Klavdij Sluban.
