2014

Christian Sardet

Photography
Tara Oceans

Christian Sardet is biologist, passionate about the scientific and artistic imaging of cells and organisms. Director of research emeritus (CNRS) at the Institut de la mer in Villefranche-sur-Mer, he has focused primarily on the fertilization and development of embryos. Author of several award-winning films and DVDs, he received the EMBO (European Organization of Molecular Biology) Prize for communication in life sciences.

Plankton Chronicles

As co-founder and a scientific coordinator of the Tara Oceans expedition (2009-2013) devoted to the global study of plankton, Christian Sardet initiated the Plankton Chronicles project in collaboration with the Macronauts (Sharif Mirshak & Noé Sardet). Their aim is to share with the general public the extraordinary beauty and diversity of plankton via photos and videos. In 2013, Christian received the Grand Prix des Sciences de la Mer (IFREMER) awarded by the Academy of Sciences and published the beautiful book “Plancton: aux origins du vivant” (Editions Ulmer, Paris), subsequently translated into English, German, Japanese and Chinese.

Christian Sardet

Christian Sardet, came several times in residence on board the schooner. His son, Noé Sardet, a filmmaker living in Montreal, inherited his mother’s passion for filmmaking while immersing himself in his father’s scientific universe. Family photos attest to this: at the age of 5, Noé was already fishing for plankton in Friday Harbour, United States, in the company of his father. Together, Christian and Noé, introduce us to animals barely visible to the naked eye, in images, in the famous “Plankton Chronicles.” They were on board for a leg, to photograph and film plankton mixed with plastic. They agreed to play along with the camera. Crossed portraits of a father and a son, in 2 parts:

The Plastic Vagabond