Accompanying François Mayu from his meanderings on the historic WWI battle site of the Chemin Des Dames in Picardie, to his studio in Paris and to the Susse Foundry.
In the final count, 187,000 French and 163,000 Germans soldiers died there, most under 25.
The Chemin des Dames seemed symbolic to me of the Great War: Since then I have lived with this imperative need to bring myself there regularly. I Never dig, never violate the ground, but simply glean these fragments of steel, copper, lead which constantly question me when I assemble them: what was their devastating history?