56 days in Arles

When the world outside went quiet during the COVID‑19 lockdown, François Halard, celebrated photographer of interiors and architectural spaces, turned inward - literally. In 56 Days in Arles, Halard chronicles a lockdown spent within his 18th‑century hôtel particulier in the historic city of Arles, creating a visual diary of Polaroids - one for each day.

The project is deceptively simple: 56 photographs capturing the play of light on familiar furniture, objects, and architectural details. But simplicity belies depth. Halard’s lens treats the house not merely as a home but as a living narrative, each object a character in a story of memory, comfort, and passage of time. The objects, collected over decades, function as silent companions - echoes of travels, friends, and professional journeys.

The use of Polaroid film lends immediacy and tactility to the series, emphasizing the ephemeral nature of each day while rooting the work firmly in tradition. The slightly softened focus, the intimacy of perspective, and the quiet interplay of light and shadow transform familiar spaces into poetic landscapes.

Arles itself, with its Italianate charm and centuries-old architecture, provides more than a backdrop; it is integral to the work’s mood. Halard describes his house as “a body of my work,” ever-evolving, yet timeless - a space that mirrors both his personal history and the universal experience of confinement.

56 Days in Arles is more than a record of a lockdown. It is a meditation on stillness, introspection, and the creativity that can emerge when one turns the camera inward. In Halard’s hands, domestic interiors become repositories of memory, light, and life - a reminder that even in stillness, there is narrative, beauty, and discovery.