As the laureate of the Ruinart Award 2019, Elsa Leydier was invited to join the harvest in Champagne, France, in September 2019. The experience inspired HEATWAVE, an artistic vision of the connection between nature and the people who work with the vines.

In HEATWAVE, she blended conventional photography with experimental methods, including rayograms made by filtering light through materials used to protect champagne from its adverse effects. Champagne is indeed sensitive to light, which has an impact at every stage of its production: vineyards are planted on hillsides to capture the sun's rays as effectively as possible, while cellars are carefully shielded from UV rays, which could leave the champagne with un 'goût de lumière' — a taste of light — spoiling its subtle palette of aromas.

It is this sensitivity to light, shared by both champagne and photography, that served as Elsa Leydier's starting point for HEATWAVE. The work raises the issue of climate change and its transformative effect on the relationship between people and nature.