Herring seining
by: Julie D’Amour-Léger
Digital photograph, inkjet printing on cotton paper
From 2020 to 2022, I devoted three years to photographing sixteen types of fishing as well as oyster farming. My approach first focused on highlighting the human dimension of this world: each image shows the women and men who work at sea, captured in the constancy of their gestures and the ever‑changing reality of their maritime environment.
As this work progressed, I became aware of the fragility of this world. Climate change, the migration of marine species, and the marked decline of certain resources are already threatening the future of fisheries. I therefore see this project as an act of memory, where the artistic approach also becomes a way of bearing witness, preserving knowledge, and documenting a world in transformation. From this perspective, my artistic gaze also intersects with an anthropological dimension.