TITLE: "L’amour triomphera toujours" - Love will win, always

The 2016 terror attack on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice left an open scar. 86 died, 486 were injured. Some marks of the attack are still visible, three years later. Floral arrangements and individual things are lovingly set up by those who lost a dear one, right next to where tourists take selfies in front of the blue sea.
The city of Nice defends its beautiful shiny image of the easy vacation feeling: what is behind us is forgotten, let's look ahead. This may work for those who, like me, were able to take their children into their arms again on the next day. But it doesn't work for so many. The promenade is now newly paved, wide and shiny, lined with wonderful, proud, tall palm trees. People regain their space and enjoy the sun and the colours. But the history of this promenade cannot be hidden below the asphalt. The glossy layer that is placed on the memories cannot bury the pain. And it has cracks. Soldiers are patrolling in the sun. The lettering on the floor of the promenade "L’amour triomphera toujours" is still visible but slowly fading.
Before memory fades, I want to remember and think. The dark past stands in contrast with the desire to live a free and happy life. One inevitably faces this while walking on the promenade. However, dark times may try to take over but in the end the light and colours come back. If we do not let fear and anger, revenge and hatred take over, love will win, always.

AUTHOR: Pia Parolin ITALY

I am a biologist and passionate hobby photographer. I was born and raised in Italy, studied biology in Germany and Brazil, and lived many years in Amazonia for my PhD studies before moving to the French Riviera in 2005.
I am a fervent and creative photographer and always carry my camera with me since the day my father gave me a Minolta at the age of 9. I started with travel, landscape and nature photography. In 2016 I discovered street photography and started to develop my new passion. With my photos, I try to capture the dynamics and ephemeral moments of everyday life.
I created the "Promenade Moments" series in 2017, which won prizes, is published in a book by Maison Editrice Baie des Anges and tours through Europe as a solo exhibition (Nice, Magdeburg, Nürnberg, Bonn, Berlin, Trieste, Düsseldorf).
I am the secretary of the Antibes Photo Club, a jury member for the Fédération Photographique de France, and a member of the Association Photon in Nice. I give talks and lead photography workshops in several languages. My second photography book, “Sunday Morning in Nice” with street photography in black and white, came out in November 2019. < BACK TO GALLERY