Alice Pallot: Toxic Beauty

Photographer Alice Pallot’s exhibition “Alegues Maudites, Red Bloom” at Leica Gallery in Paris draws attention to a largely overlooked consequence of climate change, the proliferation of toxic algae.

Photographs by Alice Pallot

The project focuses on the Bay of Saint-Brieuc, in the Brittany region of France, where green algae generate olfactory and toxic pollution along the coastline. Their decomposition releases a gas which, if highly concentrated, becomes lethal.

Alternating the photographer’s images, characterized by strong aesthetic and imaginative style, with satellite images from ESA-European Space Agency, the project’s atmosphere hints at science fiction. As part of her research, the photographer also added a physical element to her prints, cultivating the same algae on the paper’s surface.

The exhibition is on view at Leica Galle ry in Paris until January 11, 2025.