NORD INDUSTRIEL

LOIRE, FRANCE, 2024

Northern France boasts a rich agricultural industrial culture that has evolved to become a powerhouse in French and European food production. The region's vast arable lands span over two million hectares. Intensive agriculture has made it a vast desert, but it's an incredible place to make art. 

​The North of France is my second home. Since I was a newborn, I've voyaged across its massive landscapes on family road trips. The army of wind turbines, the neverending fields of wheat and rapeseed, and the rows of Poplar plantations and pylons were a common sight when looking out the car window. Coming back as a nostalgic young adult with a camera, I knew I had to encapsulate this industrial character omnipresent across the entire region. 

I didn't want a basic print of a field or a row of wind turbines. I wanted to film different. We spent two days covering the endless fields across the Loire Region with no success. I'd visualised an abstract close-up frame of a Pylon in my mind. But I hadn't found one that matched this vision. We had a day left to find one, and I was beginning to feel the pressure. Failing wasn't an option. I knew I had to keep searching. 

The next morning, we headed out in the car at 6.30am. It was beginning to be another day of endless drives down narrow farm lanes to no success. We were on our way back to base camp and decided to take a different road back. That was when I spotted a huge pylon, the exact shape I'd imagined filming. 

It was dusk. Every minute was getting darker. I knew I had to make the shot fast. Pushing my camera to the edge of its capabilities, I made the frame. 

After all the failure, these are the moments the artist cherishes. These are the moments that you work for. 

"I DIDN'T WANT A BASIC PRINT OF A FIELD OR A ROW OF WIND TURBINES. I WANTED TO FILM DIFFERENT. 

–JACOB J. WATSON-HOWLAND

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