Pierres blanches retraces more than twenty years of solitary walks by Thomas Dhellemmes, guided by the diffuse light of his Polaroid SX-70. Along the paths of Normandy, between customs officers’ trails and coastal tracks, the artist moves slowly, attuned to the fragile world around him.
This book is an inner journey, marked by “white stones” — symbols of safe passages, luminous moments, suspended emotions. These natural forms, discreet yet powerful, become landmarks, silent echoes of a sought-after serenity.
Thomas Dhellemmes photographs with a rare, imperfect tool, whose very imprecision opens the image to countless interpretations. Each Polaroid captures a fleeting sensation, a horizon line, a trace of wonder before nature or the invisible. Between private diary and poetic travelogue, White Stones pays homage to those who came before him — painters, writers, photographers — who have nourished his gaze. The book thus becomes an invitation to slow down, to see differently, to let oneself be guided by the signs the landscape whispers to those who know how to listen.
Exhibition at Polka Gallery, Paris, November 2025
Thomas Dhellemmes
Photographe
Thomas Dhellemmes has been passionate about photography since childhood. After art studies and a stay in Cape Verde, he returned to Paris and devoted himself entirely to image-making. He founded Atelier Mai 98, dedicated to commissions in the fields of lifestyle and gastronomy, while pursuing a personal body of work. His early projects began with Ektachromes (A Look at Cape Verde, Silent Walk). Since 2000, he has favored the Polaroid SX-70 for its slowness and imprecision. His images evoke fragility, silence, and the ephemeral. “Photography has always been for me a powerful act, one I pursue with modesty and spareness.”
Caroline Tossan
Ecrivain, Journaliste
Caroline Tossan is a cultural journalist specializing in the visual arts. A former lifestyle journalist, she later turned to the fields of design and art de vivre. Today, she contributes her writing and her network to outlets such as IDEAT magazine, the editorial team of Maison&Objet salon, Paris Design Week, as well as numerous architects and brands. Through her texts, she highlights the work of artists and contemporary thinkers, with a particular focus on the links between image, territory, and memory. Her sensitivity leads her to support singular artistic approaches, often committed and intimately tied to the notion of place.