Presentation. Miami Beach, with its port … the world capital of cruise liners with over 5 million passengers a year. The city is the starting point of the story of one of the biggest liners in the world: Symphony of the Seas, which was built in France.

When the Saint-Nazaire shipyard announced the putting into service of this monster of the seas in April 2018, with almost 9,000 passengers on board, I was ready for action!

After a short trial run in the Mediterranean from April to October 2018, the giant cruise liner travelled to its new homeport, Miami Beach, to do Caribbean cruises.

A parody of The LOVE BOAT, the cult American TV series with 270 episodes broadcast all over the world in the 1980s and late 1990s, this photo-book project is called The Dark LOVE BOAT, taking inspiration from the title of the original American programme.

The images of this photo-book shows an artistic perspective of the cruise-liner experience, typically enjoyed mainly by middle-class Americans today.

It explores and questions the existence or inexistence of the link between the passengers, their life on-board the ship and the sea.

March 2019, wearing flip-flops and a swimsuit or a suit and tie, I shared in the daytime and nocturnal activities of these American cruise passengers. The result is this book, which offers a very personal vision, at a remove from a more traditional documentary-style or photo-journalistic narrative. The choice of black and white photography became an obvious one once shooting had started.

The Dark LOVE BOAT: a fairy-tale, outside of time, where everyone can tell their own story…

To buy the book:

- Anonymous copy via the author’s website: https://pierregelyfort.com/​book-the-dark-love-boat

- Personalised copy, numbered & signed by contacting the author directly: messages.pgf@free.fr

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