Winding its way through 570 km of pine forests, Route 389 connects Baie-Comeau in northern Quebec with the city of Fermont, near Labrador. Cutting a swath through the northern wilderness, this lonely road brings industry, merchandise, and the occasional tourist to the Canadian outback. Photographer Johanne Biffi traveled this “road to nowhere” and captured the effects of human intervention on this otherwise pristine environment. A river turns from blue to vivid red where a manufacturing plant sits on the river bank, wooden debris stick out of a rugged sand dune, a Christian metal cross towers over a group of pines, echoing their majesty. But far from being preachy, Biffi’s images are subtle, visually integrating the aesthetics of man-made structures with those of nature. The thin, vertical lines of young fir trees are enhanced by the thin white, parallel lines of hydro cables which cut across the picture plane. The curve of the metal pipe jutting into the red river follows the shape of the mountains in the distance. With series of works Biffi elegantly illustrates the uneasy symbiosis of man and nature.

Les Territoires
space 527
Johanne Biffi
Route 389
April 16 – May 5, 2010
www.lesterritoires.org