There were fairies, there was the devil. There were papermakers, then cutlers. Today, Le Creux de l'Enfer ("The Hollow of Hell") belongs entirely to artists. Nestled in Thiers' factory valley in Puy-de-Dôme, in Auvergne (central France), the former factory – named after the site itself – became a contemporary art center in 1988. Workers left the building in the 1950s, but the thousand legends inspired by these gorges remained. The Durolle river carries them along; It runs swiftly beneath the building. Artists, soothed by its roar, are drawn to the magnetic atmosphere of the place.

Since the Middle Ages, this town perched on the heights of the Livradois-Forez natural park, overlooking the Chaîne des Puys, has grown into a thriving, enterprising community. In the gorges below, 140 locks were built, and about 40 factories sprang up. Tanneries and papermills came first. After the Huguenots, who initially established them, left for exile, these sites gradually became hotspots for cutlery production throughout the 19th century. However, hydraulic power was soon replaced by electricity. Work moved to the plains. After World War II, the factories fell into disrepair.

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