The ‘Bois des Frères’ series is based around a district on the outskirts of Geneva, in the commune of Vernier. Not far from the towers of Le Lignon, where 10,000 people live, is the area commonly known as ‘Les Pavillons du Lignon’. Made up of small wooden buildings built in the 1960s to house the hundreds of Italian workers who came to work on the site of the Lignon towers. Twelve barracks were set up to house all the seasonal workers. This should have been a temporary arrangement, but in the end it was used by generations of seasonal immigrants until it was never destroyed. Today, the site is still home to around ten wooden cabins housing around a hundred men, most of them foreigners, who all need a work permit to stay there. Each hut has ten 10m2 rooms equipped with a wardrobe and a bed, while the showers and kitchen are shared.

Photographed on film in natural light, the ‘Bois des Frères’ series reveals a place where time seems to have stood still. While the landscapes reveal a verdant environment near the Rhône, the still lifes suggest the simplicity of the furnishings in these huts of yesteryear, and the portraits underline the dignity of the inhabitants. The ‘Bois des Frères’ series bears witness to the ingenious ability of these men to adapt to their marginal condition and find their place within it.