Capucine Vever

From the lighthouse in the Iroise Sea close to Ushant, an island off the coast of Brittany, there is nothing to see but the empty horizon. Yet these waters have witnessed dozens of shipwrecks and black tides. La Relève (2019) scans inscrutable waters and a rugged coastline that belie an unprecedented volume of maritime traffic, invisible beyond the closely surveyed horizon. Off-camera, a woman’s voice describes identities, flags, and senseless routes travelled by ships from around the world, revealing the vertiginous degree of commercial activity involved in global trade.