INDUSTRIAL

(2006-2015)

Photographs printed
on stainless steel Photographs printed on stainless steel

Nicolas Ruel’s Industry series both foreshadows and exemplifies this particular photographic project, launched in 2008. Shipping containers epitomize our industrial age, and just as they travel around the world, so has the photographer journeyed from location to location to capture their essence. Their material reality is reflected in the photographic works themselves, which are printed on stainless steel. For this project, Nicolas Ruel travelled to the storied ports of Cape Town, Barcelona, Hamburg, Montreal, and Rotterdam in pursuit of industrial cranes, capturing their mechanical balletic artistry, their screeching choreography, and their gargantuan yet precise movements. Farther afield, away from the water’s edge, he roamed through industrial zones, home to fuel tanks and tankers.

Maximum security and extreme shooting conditions. The photographer climbed to dizzying heights to achieve dazzling angles and seize the beauty of spaces gnawed by rust, oil, and seawater. Working closely with dockworkers in Hamburg, Nicolas Ruel was able to orchestrate colour and light, capturing shipping containers in custom compositions fully in accordance with his vision. With this stunning photographic feat, he has created an ode to these metal goliaths and a tribute to human ingenuity and geography.

NESTING
Hamburg, Germany, 2015

24 x 72 in / 61 x 183 cm edition of 5
30 x 90 in / 76 x 229 cm edition of 5
40 x 120 in / 102 x 305 cm edition of 5

DIESEL
Hamburg, Germany, 2015

24 x 36 in / 61 x 91 cm edition of 5
40 x 60 in / 102 x 152 cm edition of 5
60 x 90 in / 152 x 229 cm edition of 5

SOLAR YEAR
Hamburg, Germany, 2015

24 x 36 in / 61 x 91 cm edition of 5
40 x 60 in / 102 x 152 cm edition of 5
60 x 90 in / 152 x 229 cm edition of 5

HANSA
Hamburg, Germany, 2015

24 x 72 in / 61 x 183 cm edition of 5
30 x 90 in / 76 x 229 cm edition of 5
40 x 120 in / 102 x 305 cm edition of 5

LANDER
Montreal, Canada, 2006

24 x 48 in / 61 x 122 cm edition of 5
40 x 80 in / 102 x 204 cm edition of 5
60 x 120 in / 152 x 305 cm edition of 5

TRANSLATION
Montreal, Canada, 2006

24 x 48 in / 61 x 122 cm edition of 5
40 x 80 in / 102 x 204 cm edition of 5
60 x 120 in / 152 x 305 cm edition of 5

LEVÉE
Montreal, Canada, 2006

24 x 48 in / 61 x 122 cm edition of 5
40 x 80 in / 102 x 204 cm edition of 5
60 x 120 in / 152 x 305 cm edition of 5

LONG-HAUL
Hamburg, Germany, 2015

24 x 72 in / 61 x 183 cm edition of 5
30 x 90 in / 76 x 229 cm edition of 5
40 x 120 in / 102 x 305 cm edition of 5

LOCKOUT
Hamburg, Germany, 2015

24 x 48 in / 61 x 122 cm edition of 5
40 x 80 in / 102 x 204 cm edition of 5
60 x 120 in / 152 x 305 cm edition of 5

ENGRENAGE
Cape Town, South Africa, 2014

24 x 36 in / 61 x 91 cm edition of 5
40 x 60 in / 102 x 152 cm edition of 5
60 x 90 in / 152 x 229 cm edition of 5

LOAD
Rotterdam, Netherlands, 2013

24 x 36 in / 61 x 91 cm edition of 5
40 x 60 in / 102 x 152 cm edition of 5
60 x 90 in / 152 x 229 cm edition of 5

CAPITAL
Hamburg, Germany, 2015

24 x 36 in / 61 x 91 cm edition of 5
40 x 60 in / 102 x 152 cm edition of 5
60 x 90 in / 152 x 229 cm edition of 5

BLOCUS
Hamburg, Germany, 2015

24 x 36 in / 61 x 91 cm edition of 5
40 x 60 in / 102 x 152 cm edition of 5
60 x 90 in / 152 x 229 cm edition of 5

CHINA SHIPPING
Montreal, Canada, 2006

24 x 48 in / 61 x 122 cm edition of 5
40 x 80 in / 102 x 204 cm edition of 5
60 x 120 in / 152 x 305 cm edition of 5

CARGO
Montreal, Canada, 2006

24 x 48 in / 61 x 122 cm edition of 5
40 x 80 in / 102 x 204 cm edition of 5
60 x 120 in / 152 x 305 cm edition of 5

OVERSEAS
Hamburg, Germany, 2015

24 x 36 in / 61 x 91 cm edition of 5
40 x 60 in / 102 x 152 cm edition of 5
60 x 90 in / 152 x 229 cm edition of 5

ALLIAGE
Hamburg, Germany, 2015

24 x 36 in / 61 x 91 cm edition of 5
40 x 60 in / 102 x 152 cm edition of 5
60 x 90 in / 152 x 229 cm edition of 5