07/12/2025
”While researching more than 30 slag heaps (there are over 200) in the mining basins of Nord-Pas-de-Calais during the creation of Chromophore, I discovered that several of them had experienced major fires. This was because some of the accumulated coal continued to burn (combustion), and the fire broke out spontaneously due to summer dry weather and rising temperatures (global warming), or was caused by arson. When I visited these burnt slag heaps one year after the fire, it seemed to me that nature had already created a new environment, even though blackened trees and soil remain in some places. New branches are growing on tree trunks that appear to have died in the fire, dandelion flowers are blooming all around, and lichen is forming new life in the burned fields. Faced with these natural forces of transition, I was reminded of the great Hanshin-Awaji earthquake of 1995, which I experienced at the age of 9.
The streets that existed until yesterday have disappeared, concrete buildings have collapsed, wooden houses have been burned to ashes, and the ground where the fires started still retains its heat. Walking through these surreal and vanished urban landscapes, frightened by the aftershocks, I keenly felt the smallness of human beings in the face of nature.（…）once again, I am driven by the desire to capture the imprint of time that remains on the site using local materials, drawing inspiration from Japanese papermaking, dyeing, and the production of ancient natural pigments.“ — Hideyuki Ishibashi
Pictured: Hideyuki Ishibashi, Burning ground (print #1-3, 4x5 inch film buried in the burning slag heaps of the Fouquières marsh from 30 August to 1 November 2023), Dichromate gum print with pigment created by the artist (plant ash) on black BFK Rives 280g, 26cm x 20cm, Edition of 3 (each copy is unique)
⛰️Floating Mountain, Whispering Ashes
🌿In collaboration with and Maison Tempsens ),
, curated by Paula Zeng
📍 ZETO ART, 18 rue Chapon, 75003 Paris
🗓 13 Nov - 13 Dec 2025
🥂Finissage & Meet the Artist, 15:00 - 20:00, 13 Dec 2025
