Down by the river: a meditation on mental health

The Guardian

a day ago

During periods of deep turmoil in her personal life, Dutch photographer and mother of six, Marjolein Martinot, sought solace in nature. Each evening she'd walk to a nearby river in the south of France with her camera in hand. There she captured the quiet beauty of the natural world in the golden light of dusk, forming connections with the animals and families she encountered at the river's edges – jumping, splashing, climbing and swinging from the trees. Riverland is available to purchase from Stanley Barker
Marjolein Martinot: 'At once, I felt connected again. Connected to life, to the beautiful nature around me, but most importantly, I felt connected to myself again. For me there is almost no nicer experience than being by yourself, surrounded by peace and quiet in a beautiful natural setting. Finding worthwhile moments, and then to be able to capture these with the camera. It is purely therapeutic – distracting and comforting, and often extremely stimulating as well. It is just a great recipe to feel much better overall'
'The first inspiration for Riverland started while I was photographing a bunch of little boys in trees on the Creuse river of the Indre. It was in the early months of the global Covid pandemic, and it felt almost surreal to be there during those challenging times, and to be photographing these happy and enchanting moments. Something shifted inside of me then, and it made me want to come back there and make more work. I subsequently kept on searching for other unique moments in natural scenery, all in and around the rivers of southern France. This image is the core of the work for me'
Through these intimate, unguarded moments – children mid-leap, ripples catching the last light of day, trees bending towards the water, and horses galloping in the fading glow – Martinot began to piece together a new sense of self. She writes: 'I photographed this young couple lying down on the grass, near a branch of the Aveyron river in the region of the Tarn-et-Garonne. They were lying down exactly like this when I asked if I could take their photo, and then told them to please not move. I loved the simple intimacy of the moment and the sweet, content gaze of the girl'
'At some point I started noticing that the project contained a bit of a fairytale vibe, both in mood and scenery, and even in character. That kind of made sense though as in a certain way, the whole project was also an act of escapism for me. It was around that moment that I came up with the title Riverland'
'Maybe it's a bit of a cliche, but I've always appreciated the river as a metaphor for life. It just seems to echo life in such a simple, beautiful and poetic way. Rivers are like the veins of the world, connecting places, plus you never know what or whom you might encounter there, and I just loved that idea. I randomly selected southern rivers in France as starting points for my travels and subsequently followed some of the trails along them. This is a photo of water lily leaves, floating on the surface of a small river in the department of Tarn-et-Garonne'
'After I photographed these wild flowers, I remember thinking that they somehow reminded me of the Coronavirus images I'd seen. Perhaps it's the way the 'tentacles' appear here. In a certain way, they depict the daunting moments of the global pandemic for me'
'Sometimes I just saw someone lovely and/or interesting, and then asked them directly (and naturally also the parents) if I could take their portrait. I was quite lucky in that respect, as most people accepted. I always asked for contact information and then sent them photos of the shoot afterwards. I love taking portraits of people. When taking a portrait, the interaction is often intimate and special. That tiny instant of someone's personality coming through is a lovely experience. Being a naturally shy person, these one-on-one encounters give me a real boost'
'Finding the right light was crucial for the poetic mood I was after in my pictures. With a couple of exceptions, most of the photos for Riverland were taken either very early in the morning at the first available light, or in late afternoon/early evening – at dusk or even later'
'For years I had been struggling to find enough time to express myself genuinely and creatively – both as a woman and as an artist. The times we were (and still are) living in made things feel much worse. With the many horrible things going on in the world, and with so many negative outlooks, I was often finding myself feeling overwhelmed and depressed. Turning towards nature seemed like an obvious answer, and I did just that'
'The work contains a mixture of nature and portrait photography. The nature and landscape photos are mostly quiet and slightly ethereal perhaps, while in contrast to that, some of the portraits might be perceived as rather straightforward and direct. The combination of the two just appealed to me as it resonated with my feelings at the time, and it confronted me with myself in some way as well'
'Some of the photos of people in the book were spontaneous captures as I stumbled upon them because they were perfect in the given situation, and I was afraid that if they became too aware of me photographing it all could end up looking staged. However, I always introduced myself afterwards and asked for permission to continue shooting. I consistently ended up talking to the people I met, as I think that it's an essential part of the whole process. These girls were from Germany, and were vacationing with their parents in the Hérault department'
'As the work was being shot with film and on analogue cameras, it meant that I couldn't see the results right away. However, often when I had a good feeling at the time of taking the picture, it turned out to be so as well. This photo was taken with an old Rolleiflex camera. The introverted mood of the moment just resonated with me'