Auctus Animalis

Auctus Animalis, (augmented animal), is an initiatory fable that nar- rates the metamorphosis of hybrid species into constellations. A poetic questioning on the transformation of the living. In this surrealist pro- ject, paying tribute to the animal kingdom, to biology and to bioacoustics, the three mediums of photography, literature and music will intersect and take shape in three restitutions in several spaces in Paris, Nantes, Metz, Arles and Marseille: a photography and music exhibition, an artists’ CD book, and, for certain places, a show with an actor, two musicians (violin, piano) and a projection system.

Captain Levant, hired by a consortium of scientists and military personnel, takes command of a stealthy sailing ship with a reduced crew. He leaves to find a meteorite fallen in the Pacific. The meteorite seems to contain brownleeite, a metal that could accelerate the conquest of space. The captain will not find the desired material but an island-mirage reflecting his desires. On this magical, metaphorical island, the plants, minerals and animals have been shaped and augmented by an invisible intelligence.

This journey, sometimes full of pitfalls, will lead the captain through two dreams, into the cosmos and the abyss. Our sailor will finally witness a great concert of animals at the end of which they will become a new cosmogony.

Prix Swiss Life à 4 mains [fr]

Le Prix Swiss Life à 4 mains, an unprecedented encounter between photography and music.

The Fondation Swiss Life launched the Prix Swiss Life à 4 mains (“4-Hands Prize”) in 2014 to actively support artistic creation. Aiming to promote talent, this artistic prize, the only photography and music prize in France, rewards every two years a cross-creative and original project by a photographer and a composer. Both artists benefit from a large financial endowment, the valorization of their work through the publication of a book, and several exhibitions in renowned cultural places, in major cities of France. With this 5th edition, rewarding the work of Vincent Fournier and Sébastien Gaxie, the Fondation Swiss Life keeps on supporting artists and their creation, and thrives to make culture accessible to everyone everywhere in France.