Second Season
Belgium / France
2021
“Deuxième Saison” (Second Season) is a documentary, photographic and sound project that addresses the issue raised by the possible reopening of a tungsten mine in the village of Salau in the Ariège departement. The first season started in 1971 with the exploitation of the site, ending fifteen years later with its sudden closure as French tungsten was no longer competitive enough and the presence of asbestos was found in the rock. The valley was then deserted by the miners, leaving behind an economically and environmentally devastated region.
In 2015, as the French government was keen to return to this French mineral, a new exploitation project was initiated. The population was then divided between those who supported the reopening of the mine for economic reasons and those who opposed it mainly for environmental and public health reasons.
With the support of the Wallonie-Bruxelles Center/Paris and Wallonie-Bruxelles International
Portfolio
About the artist
Photographers Mathilde MAHOUDEAU and Lucas CASTEL met as students at the École Supérieure d’Art Le Septante Cinq in Brussels. Being both concerned with the themes of the environment and territory, their collaboration focuses on the impact that a mining activity relaunch project can have on a valley, its landscapes and its inhabitants.