When I started writing this blog, I thought I’ll be sharing here my ideas, thoughts and takes about pictures I took- how I took them and why, how did I process them and what was the flow from vision to the final image.
I never thought I’ll be writing a post about a picture I never got to take…
Let me set the stage and take you to Paris
I had the opportunity to visit Paris a few times right before the COVID-19 pandemic stopped the world from moving. While many people sees Paris’ beauty in its classic architecture, museums and cathedrals, I was looking for something else.
Back in the 1960’s- 1970’s Paris was overcrowded by immigrants and people that moved into the city from all over the world. The need to find housing solutions to this fast-growing population led the rapid building of many public housing estates mainly in its suburbs.
While many of these estates were designed to solve the practical needs of rapid housing- nothing more, some were designed with a different thought.
These housing projects, designed and built by architects that were inspired by ideals of Brutalism and Post-Modernism, turned Paris’ suburbs into a futuristic architecture playground that is remarkable and outstanding even today. And in these suburbs our story takes place.
Round 1- a trip to Cabbage Wonderland
Les Choux de Créteil
Créteil, one of Paris’ southern suburbs, is a good example for this kind of architecture playground. Architect Gérard Grandval designed a group of ten cylindrical buildings, each 15 stories in height. The project is known as Les Choux (the Cabbages), due to the unusual shape of their balconies.
Strolling the narrow walkways of this strange neighbourhood, I was overwhelmed not only by these amazing towers that look like nothing else, but also by the huge gap between the futuristic sight that Grandval had back in the 70’s when he envisioned this complex to the poverty in which it stands today.
My photography trips took me to some tough places before, so I wasn’t feeling uncomfortable. Yet, it was clear to me, that my presence there and my camera clicks are not entirely welcome.
Not far from the Cabbage garden, stands Créteil’s cathedral. An amazing dome that looks so different from every angel. As I couldn’t get in, I surrounded it, clicking endlessly… until I found myself standing in front of the rear entrance to the cathedral, where a drunk homeless seating on a mattress looked at me silently and I realised that I am taking pictures of this homeless’ home…
Créteil’s Cathedral
Round 2 - Pablo Picasso and the deserted parking lot
On my next visit to Paris, I haded to Noisy Le-Grand, a suburb situated in the east side of Paris.
My visit to Créteil got me prepared for the atmosphere I’m about to meet upon reaching my current destination… or, so I thought…
Maybe it was the strong wind that spread leaves and trash all over, maybe it was the talks about the COVID-19 virus that started to be heard wherever you went (at that time France had no more than 10 infected people)… whatever it was, I had a feeling something bad is about to happen.
Only then I arrived at the Arènes de Picasso. Obviously, I saw pictures of this place while researching it on the internet. Yet, nothing got me prepared to how amazing it it in reality.
The Spanish architect Manuel Núñez Yanowsky has designed this complex built around an octagonal square. The postmodern buildings feature long corridors covered by arches that looks as though they where taken from some medieval church leading to two cylinder shape apartment buildings that stand in each side of the square.
I was standing there for a while, trying to grasp what i’m seeing, when a poor kid approached me- trying to find out if he can get any money from me. When he realised I don’t speak French he gave up and I started shooting. I spent there a long time, changing lenses, playing with long exposures and fisheye shots… getting lost in this playground of shapes and structures.
I didn’t mind the kids that were looking at me as I clicked through, but when a group of young men gathered in the square I could feel their eyes on me and decided to carry on.
Arènes de Picasso - Fisheye 8mm
Not far from Arènes de Picasso stands an even more amazing complex called Espaces d'Abraxas. I headed there as I passed an empty mall’s parking lot and couldn’t resist entering it… and there it was- a giant old and brutal parking lot, with concrete walls and barriers- empty, deserted, not a single car.
I walked up and down the old spirals 4 stories high. searching for new and exciting angels and compositions. It felt like a dystopian futuristic movie set. Empty, cold and neglected.
Noisy Le-Grand
Round 3- How I almost got killed in the Hunger Games
As I finished my parking lot adventure I was at the top floor looking ahead at what I realised was my final destination for the day: The Espaces d'Abraxas. This complex does not look like anything else you’ve ever seen. Designed by Ricardo Bofill this postmodern complex draws inspiration from Greek architecture. Looking so futuristic and not from this world- it is featured in many films and music clips. The most famous of them is the last chapter of The Hunger Games series: Mockingjay, Part-2.
From Wikipedia: “The building complex includes 600 apartments in three buildings: the Theatre to the west, the Arc in the center and the Palacio to the east. The Palacio is a massive 18-story building of neo-Greek inspiration and orthogonal in shape. It is made up of four stairwells (two cabins and a spiral service staircase) each accommodating around 250 apartments. The Theatre is a more modest building surrounding a square evoking the forms of ancient theatres. It consists of a dozen stairwells (an elevator and a service staircase) and accommodates around twenty apartments per cage. The whole takes the form of a half-cylinder hollowed out in its center. The Arc is composed of two stairwells which meet at the 7th stage to form an arch. This arch is surrounded by the Palacio and the Theatre.”
From Wikipedia
I entered the complex through the Palacio and found myself facing a huge and outstanding corridor. I felt small and overwhelmed and instantly pulled my camera upwards to try and capture this amazing feeling… but I didn’t even got to click it…
“I felt small and overwhelmed and instantly pulled my camera upwards to try and capture this amazing feeling… but I didn’t even got to click it… ”
“Hey”… “No Photo”…! I heard him shouting at me from the right. I turned my head, keeping my camera pointed upwards, and tried to see where the call came from… “No Photo!” he shouted again… and there he was.. a dark figure in the end of the corridor to my right.
Now, My camera and I were kicked out of places before… by the city police on the banks of the Thames in London, by the security guards from in-front of the HVB tower in Munich, and even by the librarian in the free library of Berlin- So this was no total surprise to me. However, this place is public, there is no low or regulation that prevents me from shooting here... yet, he kept going… “Hey!!!”… as he started marching towards me.
My first thought was to ignore him, as if I wasn’t understanding, and to carry on with my business, but something in his body language told me I shouldn’t mess with this guy. I lowered my camera, faced him to see who he was and then I realised that even though he was very close to me now, he remained a dark figure, not more than that.
A young man, one head taller than me, with a mask covering his face (and, let me remind you, this was before COVID-19 times). He had his hood on, so I could hardly notice his eyes, and all he said to me, as he pointed at my camera, is “No Photo”.
- ”OK” I said calmly, trying to break the tension.
- “No Photo!” he repeated, not believing my intentions.
- ”OK, No photo…” I said again, covering my lens to prove my intensions.
- “No Photo…”
I got it, he was serious… I lowered my camera and waited silently to see what he’ll do now, trying to hide as best as I could the fact that my heart was beating like crazy and my hands where sweating. We stood there for what seemed to be forever until he turned and walked away from me back to the dark from where he came.
I packed the camera in my backpack and decided to look around, after-all he said “no photo” he didn’t say “no entry”. So I walked silently towards the Theatre to explore this magnificent complex. I found a spot at the top of the Theatre and set down to grasp some air. Then I realised what I’ve stepped into: There were 5 or 6 of them, all hooded up, all wearing dark masks, spread around the complex, patrolling and over-watching the courtyard in which the Arch stood. Now I could also notice the shoes hanging on the branches of the trees next to the arch… I was stepping into a drug deal! The courtyard was empty- only them… and me.
At that very moment my ‘friend’ noticed me again. He didn’t say a word but I could see he was pissed-off. He jumped down from the terrace where he stood and marched towards me rapidly. I had no time to think. Luckily, the Theatre building had an opening right behind me. I grabbed my bag and disappeared through the gate looking for a fastest way I could get out of sight.
Images by Laurent Kronental
I don’t know what would’ve happened if I stayed. I’m sure it wasn’t going to end well.
On my way back to the hotel I thought of all the people living in Espaces d'Abraxas, about the unbelievable gap between their reality and what Ricardo Bofill planned it to be. About the pictures I could’ve taken if it all was not going wrong, and mostly, about how lucky I was to return home safe even though my camera was empty.