ERRANCES is the theme of th 17th edition of the Rencontres. From July 15 to September 30, the public is invited to discover Matteo de Mayda’s exhibition.
Opposite the Auberge l’Amarré | 30, 1re Avenue Est | Mont-Louis
An extreme weather event hit northeastern Italy in October 2018. The sirocco wind reached 200 kilometers per hour through the Dolomites, knocking down around 14 million trees. Heavy rain caused torrents to overflow, dragging debris downstream, while entire mountain communities were flooded or severely damaged.
More than eight years later, the consequences of storm Vaia remain visible. Mountain slopes are barren, and forests have been invaded by the spruce bark beetle. Without vegetation, protection against landslides and avalanches is lost.
Through a documentary photographic language, and in dialogue with elements of scientific and archival research, There’s No Calm After the Storm investigates the long-term consequences of the event. The project reflects on causes, impacts and future scenarios, raising awareness about the climate emergency and the fragile balance between human action and ecosystem stability.
For Rencontres de la photographie en Gaspésie, the series of “flying” trees — airlifted from debris-covered trails — becomes a metaphor for a nature symbolically “hanged” by human action.
The project was developed in collaboration with the writer Cosimo Bizzarri and with the University of Padua (TESAF, DAFNAE), received the ISPA Grant (2021), was exhibited at Fotografia Europea (Reggio Emilia, Italy, 2024), published as a book by Bruno (2024), and awarded the Gabriele Basilico Prize (2025).
Matteo de Mayda (b. 1984, Treviso) is a visual author based in Venice. His work focuses on socio-environmental issues through an objective visual language in dialogue with archival and scientific research. He has exhibited internationally, including at the Venice Biennale and the Design Museum in London, and was selected for FUTURES, the European photography platform. He published Era Mare (2019), There’s No Calm After the Storm (2024) and Brilla Sempre (2025). His work has appeared in The New York Times, M, le magazine du Monde and The New Yorker.
