Exposition “Les enfants de Gaïa”

Open-air photo exhibition in the Jardin de l'Arquebuse. In partnership with geologist Françoise Vannier, artist-photographer Michel Joly is presenting a series of hybrid portraits based on a collection of geological and pedological materials taken from various terroirs in the Burgundy vineyards.
This work, which is both artistic and educational, is a tribute to all the men and women who, over thousands of years, have taken care of the riches of our terroir.
the diversity of the soils in the Burgundy vineyards.

Michel Joly
Author and photographer, Michel Joly works in the field of contemporary, documentary and/or fine art photography. His personal work focuses mainly on the notion of terroir and territory
terroir and territory, from a variety of angles, with a particular focus on our relationship with nature and the links between man and the land. To do this, he uses
a whole range of photographic techniques (historical, alternative and modern).

Françoise Vannier
For over twenty years now, Françoise Vannier has been using her training as a geological engineer to help winegrowers, specialising in the study and assessment of winegrowing terroirs, whether in Burgundy, France or elsewhere in the world. Its work enables the production of maps of subsoil at appellation level, knowledge of the characteristic rocks of localities, and detailed studies of plots of land on wine-growing estates. In addition to winegrowers and students of vine science or the wine trade, knowledge is disseminated to a very wide audience through webinars, podcasts, conferences and sometimes more unusual activities, such as skits in the vineyards.

The exhibition
GaÏa's children are the multitude of men and women who, over the centuries, have exploited this geological diversity to produce the rich wines that are extracted from it. Symbolised by
portraits of anonymous winegrowers, they are deliberately relegated to the background, but nonetheless assert the link that exists between man and the land they work. This series can be read on several levels. Firstly, it appeals to our collective memory, bringing back the gentle monsters (or not!) that populated our childhood imaginations. Then there's the reaffirmation that our earth was built up over several hundred million years, generating a huge diversity of soils, with the underlying question of how we use it. In the end, accompanied by captions in the form of an identity card by Françoise Vannier, geologist and specialist in winegrowing soils, this series explores the diversity of the soils and subsoils of the Burgundy vineyards, which, through the hand of man, have given the richness and renown of its terroir wines.

The project
This series is part of what is known as "hybrid photography". The portrait of the winegrower is taken in the traditional way, then printed on large-format photographic paper. A sample of soil or rock specific to a given terroir is then placed on top of the print. The result is an imaginary creature, a "child of Gaia". This image, charged with a new meaning, delivers a personal account of Burgundy's terroirs.

Les Enfants de Gaïa is one of the series in the "Bal des Rejetons" collective work. It has received the support of FICOFI and the City of Dijon.