PARADISE

Paradise is a photographic series by Maxime Riché born from the Camp Fire disaster — the deadliest wildfire in California's history. In November 2018, the town of Paradise in Butte County was nearly wiped off the map: 85 lives lost, close to 19,000 structures destroyed. Created between 2020 and 2023, the series blends silver-gelatin photography — sometimes on infrared film — with research into print materiality. Riché documented the aftermath: charred landscapes, still-smouldering earth, traces of domestic life swallowed by flames. Rather than stopping at desolation, he chose to shift the gaze toward resilience — that of nature pushing through the rubble, that of survivors rebuilding. The prints combine two processes developed with Maison Picturale: non-toxic gum bichromate (Aquaprint) in quadrichrome for colour, and ash resinotype using ashes collected at Paradise itself. The matter of fire is literally inscribed into each print: what the blaze destroyed now composes the work. Between speculative documentary and contemplation, Paradise transforms remnants into living memory.