A warm souvenir of what already belongs to the past
For many years, tourists visiting Paris used to show their feelings to the world by locking a padlock to most scenic and romantic bridges in Paris. Pont des Arts was the world famous place for those lovelocks. In June 2015, Paris City Hall decided to remove them after controverse about the safety of the railings of the bridge. Since this replacement, the structure of the look-through pannels makes it impossible to attach a lock.
From November 2013 to May 2014: I worked to save the love padlocks on Parisian bridges, before Paris City Hall remove them in June 2015. I reproduced the Pont des Arts in photos, making a meticulous plan that locates each padlock photographed on the bridge. The result of this work was a website « WeLockLove » allowing to find 40 176 individual lovelocks on the Pont des Arts. I wanted to extend the gesture of people on the bridge: give them a world exposure to display their feelings and to remember their own piece of art.
This project was noticed by the press and Paris City Hall. The website was removed in favor of a communication campaign for France #1 telecom operator Orange name « Relocklove ».
A unique set of messages to the world
The collection contains more than 40 000 photos of individual lovelocks on the Ponts des Arts. During my photographs, many padlocks surprised me: by their artistic quality (detailed drawings, engraving) or their message (sadness, hope, fact of life).
In May 2017, the phenomenon gathered collectors for the first auction held by Paris City Hall with 150 graps of lovelocks that raised more than 250 000€
