One of the standout exhibitions on Istanbul’s autumn calendar emerges from the dark tale of seaweed. French photographer Alice Pallot, as part of 212 Photography Istanbul, presents her exhibition Algues Maudites (Cursed Algae) at Institut Français Istanbul, drawing a striking line between nature, science, and art.
The Anatomy of Toxic Beauty
Created between 2022 and 2025, Pallot’s series stems from the toxic green algae proliferating along France’s Bretagne coast. Fueled by agricultural waste and climate change, these organisms take on a deadly form, rendering beaches uninhabitable and choking nature’s breath.
Pallot doesn’t merely document this disaster—she transforms it into the very material of her photography.
By mixing algae, plastic waste, and marine debris into chemical baths, she allows these elements to physically seep into the photographic surface. The images warp, crack, and stain, becoming the very world they depict: a polluted reality.
From Image to Remnant
Algues Maudites is less an aesthetic representation of a landscape and more a record of ecological trauma. Pallot’s photographs resemble “visual fossils”—surfaces where decay and life intertwine, and light becomes a chemical resistance.
The exhibition includes not only photographs but also research documents, scientific materials, and remnants of the creative process, positioning Pallot as both an artist and an “observant ecologist.”
In the Footsteps of Félix Guattari
Pallot’s work feels like a visual response to philosopher Félix Guattari’s concept of “ecosophy”: a convergence of environmental, social, and mental ecologies. Her photographs dismantle human-centered views of nature, crafting a narrative where nature is both agent and victim.
This narrative serves not only as a warning about today’s environmental crises but also as a poetic act of resistance.
The Light in Poison
Algues Maudites does more than expose ecological reality; it reveals the beauty within the ruined. Pallot’s “poison-painted” surfaces are both terrifying and mesmerizing.
Rather than judging humanity’s harm to nature, her photographs invite a reconsideration of our connection to it.
I📍 nstitut Français Istanbul – Gallery (Lower Floor)
İstiklal Cad. No:4, Taksim, Beyoğlu
🗓️ On view until October 25, 2025
