The Vancouver Overlays Project
Photographies by Elise LL. and Raphaël Meyer
Concept and Development by Raphaël Meyer
It begins with a trip to the unknown : a plane ticket from Paris, France to Vancouver, BC, Candada, and a motel reservation for 19 nights.
Also taking part in this journey : two digital cameras, a Canon Ixus and a Sony Cybershot, both around 2 MegaPixels.
Why Vancouver? This question was the most frequently asked.
Not "what", or "how", but "why". Actually, two
reasons decided us to go:
1/ neither of us knew it or anyone who had actually been there
2/ it is the city chosen by Douglas Coupland and William Gibson as their residency...
When we got there, we felt like been thrown into the twilight zone. Let me explain : there is nothing weird, or alien, or Roswellish about Vancouver, but it is everything that our hometown (Paris) isn't. Litteraly on the ocean, surrounded by nature, made of isles and mountains, shaped like a grid, filled with sports-addicted people and packed with "Starbucks".
People just looked different : they were either biking or blading or jogging or swimming or boating (or working i guess) or begging in the streets or shooting drugs depending on the neighborhood.
It made no sense. This is probably the first and only message that was meant to be conveyed here : the city cannot be reduced to single vision, it is a mosaic, a constant blend. Go the the most touristic area. Walk two block and you'll end up in a deserted one.
Now it's your turn to mix and match.