Tubular Jetty, Mouth of the Adour, Port of Bayonne 1892

Curator: Here we have Louis Lafon's "Tubular Jetty, Mouth of the Adour, Port of Bayonne," taken in 1892. Editor: My first impression is of quiet immensity. The fog or mist seems to swallow the structure, and gives the scene an almost ethereal quality. The jetty looks as if it fades right into the horizon. Curator: Lafon was very much invested in capturing these liminal spaces of industry, exploring the human intervention on the natural landscape during a time of enormous transformation. Editor: Indeed, one must consider the sheer human effort behind constructing that pier, those repeating trusses, probably forged in some ironworks – we can practically smell the coal smoke of industrial labor here. Curator: It's hard not to think about accessibility here, too. Who had access to spaces like this jetty, and who benefited from its creation at the port? How did the working-class people of Bayonne experience the Adour versus tourists who might visit the shore? Editor: I’m also drawn to the textures. Look at the detail in the pebbles on the beach versus the smoothness of the water, almost merging with the sky. There is quite a range. It grounds the whole image in material reality. Curator: And yet there’s a deliberate blurring, a conscious artistic choice to evoke a sense of time passing, or perhaps fading memory. This resonates, too, within the social fabric of that time period in Bayonne. Editor: Absolutely. Looking at the repetitive patterns, it seems so ordered yet nature reclaims itself. Maybe it shows the transient nature of these ambitious projects in face of time. Curator: A quiet commentary indeed. Thanks for unpacking the image and history along with me today! Editor: Thanks, fascinating interplay between structure, labour and elements. It's a photo that stays with you!