Studies on minimalism.
Grassy mounds, leafless trees, silhouettes and a strong sense of ancient history.
Gyeongju, the capital of the ancient Kingdom of Silla which ruled (57 BC to 935) most of the Korean peninsula. The rulers of the Silla Kingdom were burried in these mounds or tumuli.

During the cold winter in South Korea.
Plastic tents as extensions of restaurants or shelters for fortunetellers, the people of Seoul gather at these “warm” places as the night falls…

This series is a reflection about the absence, memories and traces.
What is left when all are gone? A worrying emptiness?
Whether entering a karaoke or an abandoned classroom, each scene appears like a stage where the actors have just left or never appeared.
Through this series, we wanted to give the viewer the freedom to create his or her own story.
The choice to work with Rolleiflex cameras and black and white film refers to memories.
“Long Gone” is part of an ongoing project : it will continue in China in late January
2012.

Young soldiers on a captured US aircraft displayed at the Army museum in Hanoi. In the background, the Flag Tower, symbol of the city. During the French colonial era, this tower was used as a military post. The French national flag could then be seen on its pole. Hanoi, Vietnam, April 3, 2011.

SHOW DATE: November 3, 2011 7:30pm to 9:30pm

VENUE: Espace_L | Route des Jeunes 43, Allée G Quartier de la Praille| 1227 Carouge  

Espace_L created by Leticia Maciel’s objective is to foster interaction between a number of different fields, presenting internationally renowned artists along with photographic workshops, a reading environment for the arts and a good cup of coffee.

Woman at the ropeway. Chongqing, China, 2011.

Chongqing is intersected by the Jialing River and the upper reaches of the Yangtze.
The city serves as the economic centre of the Upstream Yangtze area. It is the major manufacturing centre and a transportation hub for Southwest China.

Chongqing is known to be one of the four furnaces in China. But the furnace is not only about the weather: it is about massive economic developpement.

The signboard of the planning exhibition hall of Chongqing states proudly:

“Welcome to planning exhibition hall of Chongqing, in which the growth rings of this city can be found, showing the course of progress of Chongqing.
Chongqing, composed of an area of more than 82000sq. km, is displayed in front of the world and its 32 million people, with their enthusiasm, diligence and intelligence add colors and glory to this urban picture scroll.
The overall urban planning, like an artist, wields the pen among mountains, waters and cities, the history of old towns records the footprints of their ups-and-downs; the modern design blueprints depict a beautiful future. [...]
Time seems to get back to the remote past from today going into the future looking forward to a glamourous Chongqing. And the sustainable development of both its people and the city itself.
This is our common homeland — the youngest municipality directely under the central Government of China; an economic center in the upper reaches of the Yangze River.
This is Chongqing.”

A young man watches the city's skyline at the Ho Tay Lake, commonly known as the West Lake in Hanoi. Hanoi, Vietnam, April 2, 2011.

As the train approaches, the tiny crowd starts to move. The small train station is, for a while filled with life. We are in Vietnam. Our journey begins in Hanoi. It is late spring; the temperatures increase day-by-day crushing you. We sit on a wooden bench aboard the Reunification Express. A hard-seat-and-fan ticket to South. Promiscuity. People sleep all over the train trying to escape the heat. The air is thick. Our eyes wander there, outside on the landscape; what happened here? We were born after the war. It did not concern us, yet it was almost all we knew about Vietnam. How does this land look like today? Who are the Vietnamese? This is our travel journal. We wanted to show where we passed through, where we waited and where we got bored.
The destination is not important; it is the way covered that is.

–

The Reunification Express was Built by the French in 1936, destroyed during the war and rebuilt in 1976, its tracks link Hanoi to Saigon. It is one of the slowest express trains in the world. We like its slow pace and its name: The Reunification Express. It evokes both: a sad past and a present peace.