JORDAN CADIOT
SWITZERLAND
- August 31, 2019
As planned, the trip to Madagascar then took me to Switzerland for the start of the photographic exhibition which is part of the Macromascar project, directed by Dimitri Känel.
I arrived on August 31 in Fribourg, after a short walk I found the Bluefactory room, and without losing a minute I started to help the whole team for the assembly of the exhibition, the job was already well advanced but there was still a bit of work to do for the opening the next day!
I discover the prints of my photos, and I must say that it is a great satisfaction! Taking pictures is good, but seeing them and then having them physically in your hands is something else, it’s the end of the job! The pictures look really good, I’m super happy. If I had been able I would have left with the print of the lowland streaked tenrec (Hemicentetes semispinosus), one of the subjects I loved most during the trip to Madagascar. But the exhibition lasts a month and a half, so the prints stay here!
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- September 1st, 2019
The next day we finalize the installation, refine it, and clean it up. All the people who are there to help, and all the people I’ve met so far are really nice, I don’t know if it’s the fact that I’m a foreigner, if it’s the mood of the project, or if it’s the Swiss people in general, but everyone seems to be particularly benevolent, and it’s great!
It’s time for the opening, and I must say I was surprised! There are almost a hundred people who came to the opening of the exhibition, it’s huge! With Dimitri we were able to explain to the visitors the stories behind our images, on my side the photos concerning the animal world of Madagascar, and for Dimitri the images he made of the population in various conditions. People seemed interested, they were asking questions, and that’s exactly the purpose of the exhibition, to discover a part of this country and to share our knowledge.
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- September 2nd, 2019
Switzerland has always made me dream, every time I saw pictures and videos of this country it was beautiful, I always wanted to go see myself and walk in the mountains, or at least see them. Where I come from, in the close to Brittany, it’s rather... flat, very flat! So after this weekend spent taking care of the exhibition and the opening, the next four days were reserved for discovery and walking, with my private guide, Dimitri!
While eating at his family’s house at night, they were discussing what might be good for me to see. Dimitri’s father talks about "giger", but I don’t react the first time, then he mentions that name again and it clicks in my head! I had completely forgotten that Mr Hans Ruedi Giger was from Switzerland and that a museum in his name was present here, in Switzerland, in Gruyères more precisely. I really like its universe, I had once again watched the films "Aliens" a few days before, and my phone wallpaper is a xenonomorph, so yes of course, I am very interested in going to visit this museum!
AND WHAT A MUSEUM!!! I found it really incredible, all these works as beautiful as each other, the sculptures, the xenomorphs obviously. Some paintings are more than four meters long and three meters high, literally! The quality and level of detail are impressive, magnificent!
(photos are forbidden in the museum, which is why there are -almost- no photos)
In front of the museum there is a bar, the HR Giger bar, and of course, it is not common! It gives ideas to redecorate at home!
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- September 3rd, 2019
That day we stayed in Fribourg, Dimitri made me discover the city by bike, passing through the lower town (which is much prettier than the other part of Fribourg!).
We went to the plant garden and then to the natural history museum, always nice to do! We could also see the taxidermist of the museum who gave us a tour of his workshop, as well as the "infirmary", where he recovers and rehabilitates the animals that are brought back to him. A hawk that had a head strike was present at the time, as well as an tortoise and a hedgehog. A job that I find very interesting, I would have stayed much longer!
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- September 4, 2019
The city is great, but it’s time to go for a walk in the beautiful Swiss nature now!
Dimitri and his brother, Philippe, take me to Gastlosen. A superb mountain range located between the canton of Fribourg and the canton of Bern. After about 4h of walk and 14km in this beautiful landscape, we stop at a chalet to eat a fondue, enough to fill the belly!
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- September 5, 2019
Short night, we took guided tours of the exhibition the night before, and came home quite late. We decided to get up at 4 am to see the sunrise on the top of the Berra. So after a 4 am night, let's go to La Berra! About an hour of driving, and as much walking to reach the summit, we are there. It's still dark, it's cold, but it's already really beautiful. Then the sun rises and magnificently illuminates the landscape. What a sight! Incredible place with unobstructed view, the summit is in the middle of wooded valleys with on one side the mountains, on the other the Swiss cities! It wasn’t warm, but it was beautiful, I didn't want to go back down!
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The images I saw of this country were not lying, and I can confirm it now, it’s really beautiful!
I’ll go back when it’s snowy next time, to get a different vibe!
Thank you again Dimitri, and to your family too!