Rows. By Gaspard LAUZIN & Victor VOGE

Grey

Green

The first photo was taken in the Boulevard Lafayette on the 17th December 2015 at about 8am. We could smell exhaust fumes from the numerous cars passing by. The sky was cloudy and there was nobody walking around. It was cold. Even if the weather was not great, it was nice walking down the street.

The second picture was taken in the Jardin Lecoq, near the Boulevard Lafayette, the same day. We were beside the playground. It was a bit windy and the sky was cloudy. The temperature was pretty cold, about 8°C. Usually there are a lot of people in the park but this day, nobody was there.

The Boulevard Lafayette is one of the longest in Clermont-Ferrand. In the foreground we can see the cars on the avenue and at the right a row of trees. On the left is a chapel. This chapel belongs to the Capuchins who live there. We distinguish in the background a lot of cars. The Lecoq garden is located behind the hedge on the right of the image. The Boulevard Lafayette was built in the late 18th century. During this period the city of Clermont-Ferrand built several roads to facilitate the movements of vehicles. It is especially during this time that the Cours Sablon was created. The Boulevard Lafayette is two kilometres long. It links the Boulevard Leon Malfreyt to the Avenue des Landais.

The Jardin Lecoq was created in 1793 by the Abbé Antoine Delarbre. It is named after Henri Lecoq, a famous botanist from Clermont-Ferrand. In the foreground we can see an expanse of green grass bounded on the left by a hedge and at the bottom by a flower bed. In the background, there is a tree. The idea of a garden like the Jardin Lecoq had been suggested in 1745 by the Medical College of Clermont. The Council of the city then gave a site for the garden but no space matched the needs of the botanists. It was on August 9th 1781 that the new garden officially opened at its actual location. The Jardin Lecoq is an ideal place to enjoy nature in the city.

We called the first photo “Grey” (we chose black and white to highlight the more hostile environment). We chose this title because, every day, the Boulevard Lafayette is used by motorists at peak hours and it creates a lot of pollution and the other routes around the garden are in the same case.

The second picture is called “Green” because the Jardin Lecoq is one of those rare places in the city where you can enjoy peace and quiet and a bit of greenery. The garden becomes the lungs of the city. Set against the noisy traffic routes that pollute the city air, it offers residents serenity and the possibility to breathe air with less pollution. It is therefore essential for the wellbeing of locals and tourists.

The name that we have chosen for both pictures is Rows. This is because, in the first picture, we see rows of rushing cars, rows of white lines and trees, etc., and in the second picture we see a hedge-row. There is a pun too: the ecological “row” over pollution in our city. This fight for the planet must begin at the local level (especially in cities). Creating green spaces, parks, is a way to lower environmental pollution.

That is what we wanted to show: the city is a place where people can change things and in this case we can limit the pollution by creating green areas and restricting the space for cars.