Frédérick Carnet | THE LAST FIRST DAY
A photographic essay by Frédérick Carnet.
Rügen at the beginning of January 2016. An island in the north of Germany plunges into a strange, post-apocalyptic atmosphere.
It is reminiscent of the film The Road (2009, John Hill). What if this day was the last of a fragile peace?
This photographic essay, like many of Frédérick Carnet's recent series, was taken in a complete state of freedom. It was photographed spontaneously while he was spending time with his girlfriend (now wife) on the beach at Prora on the island of Rügen, after a quiet New Year's Eve. Influenced by the memory of the film The Road, memories of our history came up. Prora was chosen by Hitler between 1936-1939 to create a summer resort for 20,000 workers. On that particular day, his thoughts returned to the terrible time in Europe's history and the fact that our future is uncertain, determined by our present. He asked himself: "Is this 1 January the last day we will live in peace?"