Clothaire Thomas in his newly finished shingled hut, Grand-Place-les-Hauts. Reunion Island, 2022. © Lewis Joly

Zarlor

Lewis Joly

2024 — Ile de la Réunion

About this series

Zarlor: masculine noun in Reunionese Creole, meaning treasure in French.
On the trails of Mafate Circus, I kept a visual logbook, a kind of intimate radioscopy of my home territory. Through the use of a large-format Polaroid camera, I captured my encounters and moments of grace during my long walks. With its imperfect, timeless aesthetic, this instantaneous and almost magical tool enabled me to connect with this geographically and culturally remote territory. The portraits in this series were all duplicated and presented to the people photographed. This series of images, scattered across the 9 islets of the cirque, is my Zarlor (treasure), hidden deep inside my memory and the rugged mountains of Mafate.

Sunset in Jean Bernard's courtyard, Ilet à Bourse. Reunion Island 2022. © Lewis Joly
Dierre Djam and the galet lemons of his yard, Aurère. © Lewis Joly Reunion Island, 2022.
Mrs. and Mr. Thomas in front of their house, Ilet-à-Bourse. © Lewis Joly Reunion Island, 2022.
First light on Grand Morne summit. Reunion Island, 2022. © Lewis Joly
Anésie Timon, during an ONF (National Forestry Office) rally, in Aurère. Reunion Island, 2022. © Lewis Joly
Red ginger flower in Léa B. yard, Ilet aux Lataniers. © Lewis Joly Reunion Island, 2022.
Pascal Libel. aka Jahgan, after a concert. La Nouvelle, Reunion Island, 2022. © Lewis Joly
Invasive plant in the courtyard of Clothaire Thomas, Grand-Place-les-Hauts. Reunion Island, 2022. © lewis Joly
Jimmy César and behind him, the Taïbit pass and the Three Salazes, in Marla. Reunion Island, 2022. © Lewis Joly
Highland tamarind, an endemic species, Plateau de Kerval. © Lewis Joly Reunion Island, 2022.

Photographer: Lewis Joly
Nationality: Réunionnais – French
Based in: Paris, France
Website: lewisjoly.format.com
Instagram: @lewisjoly

Born in 1993 on the night of a typhoon in La Réunion, Lewis Joly is a french documentary photographer based between Arles and Paris. In 2011, he left his island to move to France and studied at the Icart Photo School (Paris). In 2013, in parallel with his studies, he began his professional life collaborating with various media and press agencies such as the JDD, Associated Press, Le Monde, Libération, Sipa Press, Bild, The Times… For over ten years, he has been documenting current events in France and abroad: the migration crisis in Europe, the Paris attacks in 2015, the clashes in the Gaza Strip in 2018, the crisis in Lebanon, the Covid-19 pandemic in France…
Winner of the BNF’s Grande Commande Photojournalisme, he returns to work on his island for the first time in 2022. For several months, he explored the isolated paths of the Cirque de Mafate, the heart of Reunion’s Creole history and culture, and questioned the way of life of its inhabitants. This work has been exhibited at the BNF during the “La France sous leurs yeux” exhibition, at the Gare d’Austerlitz and at the Ver-Voir festival (Peru). At the same time, he produced a Polaroid series entitled Zarlor (Creole for treasure), which marked a turning point in his photographic practice and approach to portraiture. This project was a finalist for the Prix Révélation SAIF x la Kabine 2024 at the Rencontres de la photographie d’Arles.