Alain Soldeville

2013 -
The Bois de Vincennes east of Paris is the French capital’s largest green space. A population of about 200 people lives in this park on a permanent basis. This population fluctuates according to the seasons and the years. Foreigners coming from Eastern Europe—Polish, Romanians, Bulgarians...—and from Maghreb live side by side with the French. Africans sometimes stay there temporarily, following in that respect the flux of migrants in the city. The tents, which are the only type of dwellings authorized by the City Hall of Paris, are screened by the abundant foliage and, except in winter, are nearly invisible. Since the winter of 2013, I have been exploring the park’s wooded paths on a regular basis. I first forged ties with a group of Polish people. Then, I photographed residents who lived in the park on a permanent basis to study their relationship with nature. One of them, who is a yogi in his 60s, has developed sophisticated survival techniques while creating a “magical” relationship with nature. I have also photographed traces of this population in constant motion in the woods.