"700 requins dans la nuit" Laurent Balesta - 2018

2 photography books in a slipcase
“700” 180page art book
“Carnet de plongées” 108page expedition book

Andromède Collection / 2018
Scientists say there are 700 of them... but for Laurent Ballesta, they are everywhere. Sharks fill the narrow horizon of his spotlight, bump into his cameras, and force their way between his fins. In this horde, where each individual fights for survival, the energy of the hungry reigns supreme. When prey is found, a pack forms and chaos takes on meaning. Wild choreography unfolds, ending in a shower of scales. To say they are ruthless would be an understatement. They are predators from the dawn of time.
Four years of photographic work carried out under the moonlight were necessary to compile this exceptional collection. It was a long-term project that allowed Laurent Ballesta to overcome his own fear, gain acceptance, and finally reach the heart of this hidden pack in Fakarava, a preserved atoll in French Polynesia. The images he brings back are stunning in their depiction of life, death, innocence, and violence. The fact that such a piece of wilderness still exists reassures us, frightens us, and dazzles us. This marvel of animal life finally emerges from the shadows. This book reveals that the most dazzling of ballets is repeated endlessly, at the end of the world, at the end of the night, and far from the circus of mankind.