Following in the footsteps of Pytheas, who, 2,300 years ago, sailed from Marseille to Thule, I came to photograph Halsnøy. I was struck dumb by these gigantic rocks on Strondavegen. Extraordinary, they embody the very definition of the picturesque: that which deserves to be depicted.

Which I did with my favorite instrument: the 4×5 view camera. Like 19th-century photographers who positioned their assistant to convey the scale of the subject, I threw myself into the image.

This project had previously only been exhibited on Halsnøy in Norway, a tiny island, and I thought it deserved to be shown in Arles during the Rencontres de la Photographie.

Richard Petit | artist & curator