For decades, swathes of France's coastline have been regularly swamped by toxic green algae, especially in Brittany. Scientists say it forms due to a glut of chemical waste from intensive farming that spills into the sea. One young photographer is exposing the problem from an unusual and surprisingly beautiful perspective.
Scientists dressed head to toe in protective suits stand on an empty beach, gazing out towards a grey horizon, surrounded by what looks like green slime.
An alien invasion? Discovery of another planet? The apocalypse? It’s like all these things and more, says French photographer Alice Pallot.
"I produce images that are very powerful because they are visually arresting and enable me to challenge the viewer," she told RFI.
Green algae on the Breton coast has been a problem since the 1970s. It washes up on shore and rots, producing hydrogen sulphide, a highly toxic gas that has caused people and animals to fall ill, and sometimes die.
For decades, thousands of tonnes of nitrate fertiliser and waste from intensive pig farms have polluted eight Breton bays, causing rapid growth of the "killer seaweed" and forcing towns to regularly close beaches.
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Spurred by rising temperatures due to global warming, the algae quickly proliferates, soon asphyxiating local flora and fauna.
The subject came to Pallot’s attention thanks to an investigation by radio journalist Inès Léraud, subsequently turned into a 2019 graphic novel with illustrator Pierre Van Hove.
Léraud's work raises the question of how authorities managed to hush up sensitive information for so long and why reactions to the problem have been slow.
The 'black' beneath the green
Drawn to the potential of documenting the crisis in photos, Pallot arranged to spend time in Brittany in 2022 in the company of Yves-Marie Le Lay, a member of local environmental group Sauvegarde du Trégor Goëlo Penthièvre.
Dressed in protective gear, he took her to places including the Bay of Saint-Brieuc to point out the black sludge beneath the green film. Pallot began photographing the algae, all while taking on board the scientific data.
The resulting series, "Cursed Algae, a Sea of Tears", is a powerful visual voyage into the heart of an ecological tragedy.
Pallot used different techniques to photograph the algae, even taking pieces of it to use as filters on her camera lens. The unsettling but stunning visual universe that resulted could be straight out of a science fiction movie.
Pallot admits she’s a fan of the genre – but not of the real-life catastrophe unfolding before her eyes.
Showing the invisible
Pallot’s series – currently on display at La Gacilly Photo Festival in Brittany – is what she calls an "anticipatory" documentary, combining elements of reality with her vision of the future.
"It’s my way of showing catastrophic problems all while offering a new narrative through photography," she says.
Photography "is a medium to show what is invisible", she says, referring to the toxic gas produced by the algae that can’t be seen by the naked eye.
Despite the destruction of one natural habitat, Pallot says, she realised other life forms – ones that don't need oxygen – were prospering in a new, anoxic environment.
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The second phase of her project took her to Toulouse, where she worked with scientists at France’s state research laboratory, CNRS, to reproduce the chemical effects of the algae.
Together, they soaked images for three weeks in a toxic algae bath. The stains formed glitter-like spatters across the photographs – like a landscape on a distant planet, both mesmerising and haunting.
Beauty as bait
The stronger the image, the more effective the message, suggests Pallot, who has also documented other forms of pollution – notably the damage caused by the absorbent sponge used to preserve cut flowers in the commercial floral industry.
Pallot says she uses beauty like bait, to draw people in. Once they read the captions on the photos, they are confronted with harsh recognition; a visual wake-up call of sorts.
"I use artistic techniques that are visually appealing. After the beauty has drawn the [public] in, I can raise awareness so that that they will look more carefully and better understand the situation," she explains.
"Photography as I see it, is a way to inspire empathy among young people and viewers in general. I really think that it’s a medium that can change things in terms of personal commitment."
Alice Pallot’s work is on display as part of the La Gacilly Photo Festival in Brittany until 3 November 2024.
