Paris Silenced

In 2020, paralysed by the coronavirus, the world went into lockdown and Paris was no exception.

Protected by his media pass, journalist Ian Borthwick set out to photograph this unique event, visiting the classic monuments devoid of tourists, marvelling at the perfect reflections in the untroubled waters of the mighty Seine River, and braving arrest by gendarmes on the Champs-Elysées.
The result is this curated selection of the most evocative images.

Born in Christchurch, educated at Christchurch Boys High School and Canterbury University, Ian Borthwick fashioned a career as a pioneering bilingual journalist, broadcaster, and author, not to mention being for several years the official interpreter and first ever press officer appointed to the French National Rugby team.

The Paris-based rugby journalist is also an award-winning photographer whose fine art images are a graphic record of a unique moment in history – the Covid Lockdown which turned the sparkling city of Paris into a ghost town.

This exhibition is curated by DMC and generously sponsored by Southern Eye Specialists.