Feet in the Water
Setting out to meet the Touloubre, a 60 km river that rises in Venelles and ends its course in the Étang de Berre in the Bouches-du-Rhône.
Setting out to discover, feet in the water, its many faces: banks more or less accessible, a wild and secret path or, on the contrary, a channelled one, discreetly making its way through nature constrained by humans…
Setting out to explore, feet in the water, beneath the shade of the riparian forest — the wooded, shrubby, and herbaceous formations that line its banks…
Setting out, feet in the water, surrounded by dragonflies and a few mosquitoes, and trying to reach the uncertain, barely visible bed of the Touloubre — mud, stones, algae, current, piles of branches or trunks blocking the way…
Stepping into the bed of the Touloubre, feet in the water, standing in the middle of the stream and “entering” a universe with a different perspective, one that escapes us as long as we stay on the banks. Feeling the uneven ground, the changing textures of vegetation from place to place, the water temperature, the strength of the current, the question of the riverbed almost never visible — “living” the river from the inside. A viewpoint at water level, which demands a form of humility and respect for this living, reactive space.
An exhibition and publishing project by Nathalie Bossard (association l’Image en jeu : www.limageenjeu.com)
