In the Garden of the Hesperides

The myth

In Greek mythology, the Hesperides were the nymphs of the evening who tended to the golden apples of wisdom that grew in Hera's orchard. It was said these golden apples provided immortality, and could only be picked by a God or a Titan. Coveted by many (including the Hesperides themselves, who often picked the golden apples), Hera protected the garden by placed a never-sleeping dragon of a hundred heads by its entrance.

The photos

This series came to me abruptly during my stay at a small roman village in Provence, France. That ancient room literally carved out of a rock at the back of the house I was staying, is used as an atelier and as an orchard where two big, beautiful citrus trees winter.

I felt an immediate urge to create something in this space, allowing myself the liberty to experiment and do whatever felt right at the moment – as if a vision from Hera herself. Thus came to life "In the Garden of the Hesperides".