2023-12-10 18:54:47
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The Pierrevives departmental estate is hosting the exhibition “The Sixth Extinction”. Seventy-four black and white photos of rare beauty of primates, reptiles and even felines threatened with extinction due to human activity.
France Télévisions – Culture Editorial
Published on 10/12/2023 17:54
Reading time: 2 min Exhibition “The sixth extinction”, to discover until January 27, 2024 (France 3 Languedoc-Roussillon)
This is an exhibition already presented in 2022 at the Visa pour l’image festival in Perpignan which we enjoy seeing again. Before the objective ofAlain Ernoult, these endangered species challenge and above all do not leave you indifferent. A successful bet for this former French war reporter with multiple awards who, for several years, has been warning about the vulnerability of species to raise our awareness.
Exhibition “The Sixth Extinction” – Photographs by Alain Ernoult – (France 3 Languedoc-Roussillon: T. Will / F. Jobard / C. Calmels / V. Portela-Rosa)
“I am not a lesson giver”
Convey emotion. This is all the photographic work of Alain Ernoult whose photos have been published in the biggest magazines: Paris Match, Life, National Geographic, Time Magazine…A talent that he has been putting, since 2017, at the service of species threatened by climate change, overexploitation of resources, pollution, destruction of natural habitats, invasive species, massive deforestation and even intensive agriculture.
“It is very important to understand that today, we have lost 70% of mammals, some 400 million birds in Europe. Very serious things are happening” he warns. “I am not a lesson giver. I share through images. Everyone must make their own way based on what emerges from these photos” he adds.
Get closer to the animal to capture the emotions
To raise awareness among a wide audience, Alain Ernoult goes as close as possible to the animal kingdom, as with this elephant photographed in South Africa. “One moment I kneel in front of him because I want a low angle. He lets me do it. Which is totally incredible because an elephant, normally, charges directly at you” he explains. The result of the shot is exceptional. Photographed in close-up, the pachyderm faces visitors. It’s a real one-on-one. His gaze is expressive like most of the photographs that make up this exhibition.
But capturing these emotions is not always without risks. A photo shoot with a family of great apes almost went wrong. “The guide had warned us not to approach less than five meters. Without realizing it, I was one meter from the group. I took the photos but the dominant male arrived. He gave me a big punch in the arm”, says Alain Ernoult.
If you don’t have the opportunity to see this exhibition, a book containing nearly 200 animal portraits signed Alain Ernoult was published in 2020 by the EPA publishing house.
The sixth extinctionAlain Ernoult – Departmental domain of Pierresvives in Montpellier, 907 Rue du Professor Blayac – Until January 27, 2024 – Free entry from Tuesday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., guided tours of the exhibition on Wednesdays at 4 p.m. and Saturdays at 11 a.m. and 4 p.m.
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