Opening Statement I feel very privileged to have been invited to participate in Bout d'essais' second residency in Metz and to take part in this year’s Photographie mon amour festival. My challenge was to capture the essence of the City of Metz, its 3000-year history from Roman times to that of a modern city , revealed in its multi-faceted heritage of ancient buildings, historical artefacts and culture. Originally planned for Spring 2021 the chaos caused by Covid-19 during the past two years resulted in constant delays and compromises in all aspects of the residency. It was finally compressed into one hectic week of activity in early April 2022. I had the chance to work with the support of members of Bout d'essais, local producers, street cast models, stylists, assistants and interns to shoot in five beautiful locations steeped in the city’s distant and recent history. I am proud that that our combined team efforts have resulted in stunning images that again reveal some significant episodes in Metz’s long history in those places where they occurred. I really appreciate the patience, kindness, understanding and support of the members of Bout d'essais, who despite all the difficulties made my residency possible. I will forever treasure the memories of that week, especially their warm welcome and kindness throughout it. Including the help of interns and volunteers, a team of 32 people worked with me during the week. My thanks go to every one of them. I especially single out the following people and their teams for a hearty thank you. Without their professional help and support I couldn’t possibly have completed the project in such a short time: Production: Sandrine Creusot and Luc Dufrene, co-founders of Bout d'essais Production assistant, translator: Nicolas Boni Hairdresser: Jérôme Fendt and his team Makeup: Mélodie Scagnoli and her team Styling: Marine Clesse Props: Ben Allart