Exploring the Peripheral Zones of Paris (2014–2015)
Between 2014 and 2015, I initiated a photographic project focused on the peripheral areas of Paris, specifically the liminal spaces where the city’s administrative and cultural boundaries intersect with its suburbs. This zone, historically referred to as la Zone - a term evoking both marginalization and transition - is demarcated by the Périphérique, the circular highway going around the capital. The project sought to interrogate the dynamic and contested nature of these in-between spaces, which exist at the threshold of urban and suburban identities.
The Périphérique serves as more than a physical boundary; it is a symbolic and functional divide that shapes social practices, economic activities, and spatial perceptions. Drawing on the concept of liminality - originally developed in anthropology to describe transitional phases and ambiguous states - I aimed to document how these peripheral areas are both physically and socially constructed. The project questioned the nature of these spaces: Are they margins, frontiers, or hybrid territories? How do they function as sites of movement, exclusion, or appropriation?
While the project centers on this highway’s influence, it deliberately avoids depicting the road or cars, instead directing attention to the overlooked landscapes that unfold around it: the trees, parks, wastelands, and spontaneous nature that emerge in these interstitial zones.
The series was produced using a 4x5-inch large-format analog camera, a deliberate choice to emphasize the materiality and temporality of the photographic process. The slow, methodical approach of large-format photography mirrored the complexity of the spaces themselves, allowing for a nuanced exploration of their textures, scales, and temporalities. The use of analog technology also introduced a reflective distance, inviting viewers to consider the historical and contemporary resonances of these landscapes.
The Liminal Landscapes series remains an unfinished project, its fragments offer a glimpse into the evolving identity of Paris’s periphery at the time.