Voyages dans la mer perdue

Voyages dans la mer perdue, CAC – la synagogue de Delme, 2017. Photo: O.H.Dancy.

Voyage dans la mer perdue recreates a prehistoric sunset on the ocean in Delme (Lorraine, France).
The area of Delme was one of the main mining sites of precious rock salt; the richness of the region has depended for centuries on this old resource, caused by the presence in ancient times of a warm, tropical-like ocean, rich in biodiversity.
The project is an attempt to imagine the return of this old and warm ocean in the village of Delme, together with all the creatures that populated the sea, the sky and the islands.
Voyages dans la mer perdue is made up of four different works created during a series of workshops involving the inhabitants of Delme and the surrounding villages.
Together, these works recreate the landscape of a fantastical prehistoric Delme, but it is also an unusual portrait of the community and its imagination.


Le Soleil

2017. Workshop, paper, oil pastels, adesive tape, ropes. In collaboration with the primary school and secondary school of Delme. A moment during the workshop dedicated to the reinvention of the sun. Voyages dans la mer perdue, CAC – la synagogue de Delme, 2017. Photo : CAC – la synagogue de Delme.

A big Sun in the moment of its sunset, 6 meters in diameter, is suspended in the main space of the art centre, facing east.
The work is composed of more than 400 drawings created by the children of the schools of Delme. Every student invented and created an original piece of the Sun.

Voyages dans la mer perdue, CAC – la synagogue de Delme, 2017. Photo: O.H.Dancy.

Voyages dans la mer perdue, CAC – la synagogue de Delme, 2017. Photo: O.H.Dancy.

Voyages dans la mer perdue, CAC – la synagogue de Delme, 2017. Photo: O.H.Dancy.

Voyages dans la mer perdue, CAC – la synagogue de Delme, 2017. Photo: O.H.Dancy.

Voyages dans la mer perdue, CAC – la synagogue de Delme, 2017. Photo: O.H.Dancy.

Voyages dans la mer perdue, CAC – la synagogue de Delme, 2017. Photo: O.H.Dancy.

Voyages dans la mer perdue, CAC – la synagogue de Delme, 2017. Photo: O.H.Dancy.


La mer

2017. With musician Francesco Medda. Workshop, audio installation. A moment during the workshop dedicated to the reinvention of the lost sea with musician Francesco Medda, together with students of the town of Delme.

2017. With musician Francesco Medda. Workshop, audio installation. A moment during the workshop dedicated to the reinvention of the lost sea with musician Francesco Medda, together with students of the town of Delme.

During a series of workshops in collaboration with composer and musician
Francesco Medda, thirteen classes from the preschool, primary school and secondary school of Delme reconstructed the sound of the Tethys Ocean.
The waves, the wind, the storms, the animals’ calls, and the sounds of the depths and the surface were recreated using only the voices of the participants, which were recorded and amplified in the space.

La mer, 2017, Voyage dans la mer perdue, CAC – la synagogue de Delme. from Matteo Rubbi on Vimeo.


Les etoiles

Voyages dans la mer perdue. Detail of the stars, in collaboration with visual artist Alain Colardelle, CAC – la synagogue de Delme, 2017. Photo: O.H.Dancy.

2017. With Alain Colardelle, little holes of different diameters were made by drilling through the panels that obscure the exhibition space. The holes represent sections of a realsky map with constellations intentionally deformed in order to reconstruct a Jurassic Sky. The holes allow the space to maintain contact with the world outside the exhibition space.


Les animaux

Les animaux, 2017. Workshop, costumes, public events. In collaboration with visual artist Edna Gee, the students of Delme’s primary schools and Château-Salins’ agricultural highschool. With the contributions of: Andrea Rossi & Anais Fusaro, Isa Griese, Cherimus, Morgane Britsher, GEM l’Albatros.

Les animaux, 2017. Workshop, costumes, public events. In collaboration with visual artist Edna Gee, the students of Delme’s primary schools and Château-Salins’ agricultural highschool. With the contributions of: Andrea Rossi & Anais Fusaro, Isa Griese, Cherimus, Morgane Britsher, GEM l’Albatros.

Starting from drawings of imaginary creatures drawn by primary schoolchildren of Delme, a series of costumes were designed during a workshop with the students of the local Licée agricole and were later handcrafted by visual artists and fashion designers.
The costumes, displayed progressively in the show, are available to the audience to be worn and used. Instructions containing the features of the fantastic animals (how they move, the calls they make, and how they relate with each other), are also available in order to encourage the viewers to be an active part of this collective artwork.
Animaux was present at the town’s main celebration day, “Le feu de la Saint Jean”.

Voyages dans la mer perdue. Detail of the urchin costume prototype made by visual artist Edna Gee, CAC – la synagogue de Delme, 2017. Photo: O.H.Dancy.

Voyages dans la mer perdue. Detail of the urchin costume made by visual artist Edna Gee, CAC – la synagogue de Delme, 2017. Photo: O.H.Dancy.

Voyages dans la mer perdue. Les animaux, 2017, in collaboration with visual artist Edna Gee, CAC – la synagogue de Delme, 2017. Photo: O.H.Dancy.

Voyages dans la mer perdue. Les animaux, June 23 2017, Le feu de la Saint Jean , in collaboration with visual artist Edna Gee, CAC – la synagogue de Delme, 2017. Photo: O.H.Dancy.

Voyages dans la mer perdue. Les animaux, June 23 2017, Le feu de la Saint Jean , in collaboration with visual artist Edna Gee, CAC – la synagogue de Delme, 2017. Photo: O.H.Dancy.

Voyages dans la mer perdue. Les animaux, June 23 2017, Le feu de la Saint Jean , in collaboration with visual artist Edna Gee, CAC – la synagogue de Delme, 2017. Photo: O.H.Dancy.