I discovered this Catalan photographer during my time at university. His raw style as well as his approach to describe the relationship between human culture and landscape or surroundings was always very inspiring to me.
Among other great projects, his work “Sanctuaries” from 1998–2002 consisted of different series such Stones or Flowers among others.
The overall idea is how human activity leaves a mark on every neutral piece of land through the symbolism of that specific activity and hence transforming that place forever.
In the series “Stones” he takes us to random places in the woods, right next to a path where someone has placed a stone in order to sit down and rest. This single gesture is a powerful evocation to the house or the home where people seek intimacy after walking on that path.
Through that simple act of setting a break or resting point in that path our perception of it changes, transforming it from a distant neutral place to a much warmer and intimate one.
This stone next to the tree that provides a shadow evokes a presence that has vanished and this is a leitmotif through the Sanctuary series.
Whereas in the series Flowers he explores the themes of loss and separation through the bouquets left on the side of the ditch when someone gets killed on the road, Stones explores the opposite effect: the evocation of a place where people get together, a room, an inhabited place.

http://www.xavierribas.com
 
-Ignasi Casas