Lizarieta

Lizarieta is a photograph by the artist Hélène David, from the series Buru Beltza. Here, in the forest undergrowth, life takes root, and moss-covered tree trunks welcome orange mushrooms. Lizarieta is a mountain pass in the Basque Country, on the border between France and Spain.

This series emerged following Hélène David’s move to the Basque Country in 2022, as part of a photographic commission initiated by the French Ministry of Culture. Its title, Buru Beltza, means ‘black heads’ in Basque and refers to a hardy mountain sheep breed emblematic of the region. Published in 2026, the book Buru Beltza brings together archival material from the Basque Museum in Bayonne, the words of local residents, poems, and a photographic project entitled Secret de connivence avec le sol (Secret Kinship with the Soil). Together, these works form a rich and sensitive geopoetic exploration of the region.

“Here, in the Basque Country, I never tire of observing all the geological strata and how, ultimately, the landscape can be read like an open book on the history of the Earth.” Hélène David

The soil forms the starting point of the project. Hélène David is struck by the vitality, richness and fertility of Basque soil. Building on this attention to the mineral, organic and plant dimensions of the soil, her research turns towards the world of mountain farming, and more specifically towards a farm. For two years, she observes its inhabitants as well as the complex cycles of life and death that shape it. The artist views the farm as a ‘more-than-human’ community, bringing together humans, animals, plants, landscapes and ecosystems within a single network of relationships. The soil thus becomes the common ground where the territory’s various forms of life meet and interact.

Hélène David’s practice is built upon careful observation of the living world and prolonged immersion in the territories she explores. Drawing on the tradition of documentary photography, she combines her photographic work with writing, archival research and encounters with those she regards as ‘intercessors’ of the territory.

Her series view the living world as an ensemble of bodies—human, animal, plant and mineral—placed on the same plane and linked by a network of interdependencies and porous relationships. Through poetic and sensitive images, composed and selected with a strong emphasis on intuition, she creates a space where the visible engages in dialogue with the invisible, the real with the imaginary, and where the natural world becomes the setting for a sensory and evocative experience.

Hélène David’s works are regularly exhibited in France in galleries, festivals and museums, and are included in several public collections.

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