These extracts are taken from my blog on Artists' Newsletter. To read the blog click here
An extract will also be published in the Artists' Newsletter Magazine in the March 2009 edition.
Posted 29/09/08. Originally a military base, this camp in Rivesaltes (near Perpignan) has a really dark history. It has been used to hide people away, those whom society has rejected. The Spanish fleeing Franco's regime were put there. Then Jews, along with the other groups targeted by the Nazi regime; then Harkis (the Algerians who fought for the French during the Algerian War of Independence) and, more recently, as a detention centre for those immigrants without the relevant visas.
The site was recently bought by the regional council and finally, after much debate, it has been decided to build a memorial, a place to remember the appalling way in which people have been treated here. It is also being used as a place for exhibitions and artists, musicians and poets come together here to respond to the site.
Posted 30/09/08. I started filming in Camp Joffre, initially in the area which was still in use as a detention centre for "illegal" immigrants (often asylum seekers). I didn't really understand at that stage the geography of the camp (it is vast). I was stopped by a police officer and asked what I was doing!
Later I found the part of the camp which was used during the Second World War. It is known as "îlot F"(the name of the barracks in that area). I made several hours of walks through the undergrowth and over the tiles, through the buildings and along the old barbed wire. The atmosphere was eerie. It is quite an exposed place, the power of the wind must have made life uncomfortable for those living there.
I started working on the footage. Some of the walks could be used in their entirety, uncut. The images were surprisingly beautiful. I felt that I needed to work on the sound: I liked the idea of juxtaposing these images with a more sinister sound track to reflect the atmosphere of the camp. I had recorded my footsteps during the walks and I played with the frequencies to create the effect I wanted.
Posted 06/10/08. The videos have been really well received, especially in the UK. In France the Memorial Commission are interested in doing a screening in the camp which would be really good, but it is difficult to pin them down to a date. Last time I went past the camp the work had started on the memorial and it was strange to see that some of the huts had been demolished.
The most recent project in which I have been involved was the "War and Peace" event organised by Fiona Meadley on 21st September 2008 for World Peace Day. Films by 8 artists were selected to be shown in various venues including the Arnolfini in Bristol. One of my films of Rivesaltes was chosen. The showreel was really powerful and was followed by a discussion chaired by Prof Paul Gough of the UWE. See the War and Peace website for more details:
http://www.war-and-peace.info/
Posted 14/10/08. The weather was pretty bad in our village, in fact it was completely hidden in cloud, so I thought it was a good idea to head for the coast. On the way I decided to make an unplanned stop at the camp at Rivesaltes – probably my 20th visit, so I didn’t expect to find anything new . . . I was a bit shocked to see, close-up, the large section of the huts (in fact a whole row) demolished. Next to the pile of rubble a sign read – Rivesaltes camp: Restoration of the barracks – it struck me as an odd take on restoration.
I have spoken with the director of the memorial and she had told me the huts themselves were going to be the memorial with a monument / visitor centre positioned next to them. I suppose some huts had to go to make room for the centre.
I made some footage of the debris (a large pile of wooden planks from the rooves and concrete from the walls), a video-walk around it. I had my 4 yr old son Louis with me – I told him not to talk (a bit hopeful). For over 3 minutes he repeated the words “Are there any people here?" I’m sure I can use that somehow.
Heading for the coast I followed one of the camp’s tracks, not one I’d followed before; it took me to an industrial estate. The other side of the estate I waited at a railway-crossing for a train to pass (Perpignan to Paris) – I noticed a siding, just 500m from the camp; I knew that Jews were taken to Auschwitz by train, in cattle-wagons, via Drancy in Paris, but wrongly presumed they walked to the town of Rivesaltes to be loaded on to trains. This nondescript missable piece of railway track played a role in one of the worst episodes of the history of mankind – people must pass it everyday (as they do the camp) and be unaware of its reason for being. I plan to return to the siding to film it whilst walking, something repetitive and rhythmic, perhaps even encouraging reflection on the history of this part of France.
