Corinne Mercadier holds a special place on the French art scene with her very distinctive photography work that creates atmospheres tinged with mystery and poetry. She likes to set her photographs, often black and white, in ambiguous exteriors and blur their reference points, staging scenes in which the characters are invited to play roles that sometimes boggle the mind.

This large-format triptych was shot on the beach at Le Havre. The artist's lens stopped on a group of people out for a walk. Some, seated and seen from behind, are gazing out to sea, while others are playing some sort of game as a gust of wind billows and unfurls a sail. A strange poetry emits from this triptych, reminiscent of certain paintings by the German Romantic artist David Caspar Friedrich or, closer to home, Dufy's paintings of Le Havre beach scenes hanging on the MuMa walls.