Gayant is the giant who symbolizes the city of Douai (North department). Gayant is listed in the intangible cultural heritage of humanity as a member of “Processional Giants and Dragons of Belgium and France”. Unesco specifies that the traditional processions of effigies of giants, animals or dragons cover an original set of festive events and ritual representations. With his photographic series «Tales from the North», Romain Ruiz innovates a visual story where everyday life becomes a tale. It is in his region of birth — the North, indeed — that he recorded this substantive work and long visual research. It is there, in the midst of a colourful population, that Romain chose to give birth to his first photographic collection. It aspires to unveil the universal: to perceive the grain of the soul which is without blush. In his «Tales from the North» series, Romain Ruiz shows the ambition to show that in every person, it does not matter their age—human beings retain the soul of children. Each person, whatever their fate may have been, keeps the child that they have been deep inside. They keep it and protect it. In the last instance, they reveal it under the lens of the photographer. And what do children dream of doing? They create characters for themselves and live them emotionally to the depths of themselves. Ruiz invites us to enter into their enchantment while hearing their tales in whispers. To achieve his ends, in the instant of a flash, the author photographs these everyday people at the exact moment in their existence when each and everyone creates their own phantasmagoria. The photographer reveals to the viewer the narratives of the people of the North. Romain Ruiz captures moments suspended between everyday life and the fantastic world that the photographer tames and fixes for the public, filled with humour, absurdity, and extravagance.