Intertidal explores the relationship between humans and nature within the intertidal zone of Sillon Beach (Saint-Malo), where Europe’s largest tidal range, governed by the gravitational pull of the Moon and Sun, creates a cycle that shapes both the landscape and human activity. I examine how we might shift from viewing nature as something to manage towards recognising our fundamental interdependence with it.

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I examine how we might shift from viewing nature as something to manage towards recognising our fundamental interdependence with it.

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The project employs a dual approach: documentary photographs capture human activity on the foreshore, accompanied by testimonies from visitors. Bodies move according to ancestral patterns—collecting shells, searching tide pools—revealing our connection to cosmic rhythms.

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In contrast, experimental chemigrams and photograms invite natural elements—sand, seaweed and seawater—as co-creators. These materials interact directly with photographic emulsion, generating their own “self-portraits” and reversing the traditional observer/observed relationship, embodying the reciprocity at the heart of the work. As Saint-Malo faces rising seas, this project offers a contemplative meditation on adaptation and our belonging to cycles of nature.

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About

Franco-British photographer and filmmaker Mélodie Roulaud explores lived bodily experience, identity, and modes of representation. Her research examines how imagery shapes self-perception and our presence in the world. Her collaborative approach blurs boundaries between author and subject, placing the body and sensory experience at the centre to create dialogue between individual and collective experiences. Trained in literature at the Université du Maine and in photography at UAL, she began her career as a producer before moving behind the camera. Based in London, she teaches at the London College of Fashion and Central Saint Martins while pursuing her artistic practice. The series Intertidal will be exhibited at Photoforum in Switzerland (December 2025–February 2026) as part of the Photoforum Prix, and at Festival Impulse in Arles (March–June 2026).

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www.iammelo.studio