La vie en soie

Around Lyon there used to be many silk weaving mills that made fabrics for the couture in Paris. Due to the costs, production moved to Asia, which meant the end of a flourishing culture. In the spaces that became vacant, artists with very different disciplines settled who came up with many new functions for all those beautiful large high industrial spaces.
One factory was still in use and told that whole history in pictures. The owner was around 70 and had no successor. It was clear that the factory would also close. It reminded me of the men's clothing industry in the Netherlands that had also slowly but surely gone under in the seventies. I thought it would be worthwhile to capture that last factory in pictures. I rented a studio nearby and went to take pictures every day. The light was beautiful. The sound of the weaving machines too. Children from the nursery school across the street said that there was always applause across the street and that's how it sounded.
With the series I made an exhibition in the Museum of Vienne and later in Zeeland in the Silk Museum in Meliskerke. At the opening in France there were women who worked in the factory. When they saw the photos they said: "Mais non, c'est pas chez nous" , after which recognition came in the second instance. The director got an article in the local newspaper. It was super fun to do. The kitchen in the Lyon region is great so yes, every day we ate delicious food. I put the photos in my webshop. You can find them under photography.