With my photos of this simple and universal word "Hotel" I want
to show the diversity of our daily environment,
to increase awareness of the richness of our common patrimony,
to encourage serious consideration of the heritage we want to pass on to our children and grandchildren.

Photography has always been my passion and, during many years, my work... but can I say work about a passion? What I love is capturing details I could be the only one to isolate then letting everyone imagine their environment.

More than 20 years ago, I was wandering with my camera looking for images to keep on hand for my clients, advertising agencies and companies. It was in June, in a seaport on the French southwest Atlantic coast. Suddenly, I stopped in front of a hotel where I saw the word "Hotel" painted in blue on a white wall, under an open window with light white curtains gently moving in the breeze, and shutters in the same blue as the word "Hotel". Colorful flowers were climbing up the wall and the scene was sunlit through green tree leaves... Striking for a photographer!

Why didn't I shoot this great photo? I remember thinking : "it would be a great idea to take many photos of the word "Hotel" and gather them in compositions". But for what reason? My work then nearly always was commissioned, so I said to myself "Maybe later... or never, who knows?"

In July 2005 I could not wait any longer. I decided to stop commercial photography and spend my time photographing the word "Hotel" wherever my travels would take me.

Shortly I understood that this pursuit was more profound than the development of a simple decorative theme because everyone who sees one of my compositions is quickly captivated and spends several minutes moving from one photo to another. Their reactions are expressed in such comments as:

· It's incredible, I've never imagined there was such diversity in the use of the simple word "Hotel".
· Once we have seen the first photos we can't help looking at the others as we find meaning.
· How can you make such beautiful compositions with such everyday things?
· It's the first time I heard of someone taking photos of the word "Hotel" only.
· Unbelievable, I've never seen this sign and I've walked under it hundreds of times!

But when they come to think that many such unique signs have already disappeared, they are disappointed and figure that soon many more will no longer exist. Then they tell me: "thank you for showing us what we could see but don't, thank you for giving us a warning about changes that can occur without our being aware and without time to protect and preserve some things worth saving which exist in our daily life.

The question is:
What is happening to our past and our history?
What are we doing with our present?
What do we want our future to be?
In other words, what heritage are we going to leave to our children?

My answer is: PAY ATTENTION in your everyday life, that's the first step.

Around 20 years are left to me to reach my goal: through the beauty and the variety of my photos, through the artistic content of my compositions, I want to foster an ecological type of thought process in art galleries and museums: before it's too late, to increase awareness of the diversity and the richness of our common patrimony and to encourage serious consideration of its future.