The Giants of Zermatt

This panorama celebrates the giants of Zermatt, those legendary Himalayan mountains. In the foreground, the Monte Rosa massif reveals its grandeur, with Nordend and Dufourspitze, Switzerland's highest peak. The eye then wanders to the elegant Liskamm, with its tapering ridge. Then come the famous Castor and Pollux mountains. The journey reaches its climax with Breithorn and the crossing of its five summits over 4000 meters high.

I took this panoramic photograph on the Italian border, at an altitude of 4,000 metres. It highlights the great glacial plateau in the heights of Zermatt, still covered in snow despite global warming. In around thirty years' time, the last glaciers in the Alps will certainly be seen in this very high-altitude sector. Every year, the mountains change. Glaciers are gradually shrinking faster and faster. Crevasses are appearing on once pristine glaciers. It's both so sad for nature and so aesthetically pleasing to photograph that I'm constantly torn between two feelings. An infinite admiration for the treasures hidden in the high mountains and a deep anger at the irremediable fate to which they are doomed. As a passionate lover of summits, these strong emotions move me and guide my art.

In this work, we are in winter, with very low temperatures. The afternoon sun spreads its rays after the onslaught of the storm. The impetuous wind hits summits, preventing the snow from adhering to the walls. This mid-day winter light is rarely seen in my work. The soft, silvery tones highlight the giants of rock and ice towering over 4,000 metres above Zermatt. I love the way this celestial wall seems to dominate the world. Through a play of perspective, the blocks that make it up seem to be juxtaposed, proclaiming their power and authentic beauty.