Aller et Venir

A photographic project about commuting in a rural village

Aller et venir

Is it possible to live without a car in a rural community? This would be difficult, as all daily activities revolve around the car: taking the children to school, going to work, popping into the pharmacy, meeting a friend for coffee, even getting the bread. Walking is only good for Sundays, for aimless walks, for getting some fresh air. The road network has left an indelible mark on territory and geography has made way for new criteria, those of journey times: we must be able to get to Caen in less than an hour, live within twenty minutes of the school, or ten minutes from a supermarket.

Thus, it is often from inside the car that we perceive the landscape, influenced by the speed and layout of the road: the abstract scroll of highway landscapes, the charming crisscross of local roads, our detailed knowledge of our immediate environment of stop signs and red lights. By walking or driving very slowly, we notice elements of the landscape that would otherwise be swallowed up by the speed of the car: the entrance to a path, the harmony of a view, the glimpse of a tower or distant hillside.

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