How did this series about old car garages come about?
My family background naturally made me sensitive to the world and atmosphere of garages. Two members of my family used to run car garages, so I have some familiarity with the atmosphere of these places, their smells, their objects, and that particular feeling that once characterised them. This personal connection probably led me to take a particular interest in old garage façades.
While walking through the streets of Rieumes, in the Haute-Garonne département, I came across an old Renault garage (see above). Its architecture, façade and, above all, its colours immediately caught my attention. A few days later, I returned to photograph it, this time on an overcast day. I was looking for soft light that would bring out the many details of the building and its façade. This photograph gave me the desire to search for other old car garages. These businesses were once located in the heart of towns and villages. As commerce and the automobile industry evolved, they gradually moved away from town centres and increasingly settled on the outskirts, in business parks and industrial areas. The old façades that remain are now witnesses to this change. Some have retained their signs, colours, shop windows or a few objects that seem to have been left there for decades. This is how the series came about: “Garages, A Generation That Is Disappearing.”
A few months later, I came across another old garage in Ouzouer-le-Doyen (see above), in the Loir-et-Cher département. Looking through its shop window, I felt as though I had travelled half a century back in time. On the right, three corner shelves still displayed oil cans from different brands. Their condition, together with the presence of a few miniature cars, helps place this scene in another era. These details, almost insignificant at first glance, become genuine witnesses to the past.
Through this series, I want to preserve the last traces of a generation of garages that is gradually disappearing from the landscape of our towns and villages. Beyond their photographic interest, these old façades represent for me a part of our automotive, commercial and popular heritage. They also evoke an era that I came to know through my own family background.
I greatly enjoyed searching for and photographing these places. I am now just as pleased to share these images with you. If you wish, please feel free to leave a comment in the section provided at the bottom of this article.
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