2013 edition - Gardens of sensations

01. Gram(in)ophone

published at 13/10/2017

"Gram(in)ophone", Festival des Jardins 2013 - © C. Diaz

We stand in a meadow.

The sleepy swaying to and fro of the grass lures us into a planted itinerary in motion. As we make our way along this undulating footpath, we come across an expanse of plants, bathed in changing colours and light. Here the rural outing suggests the lightness of spring, there the generosity of summer and yonder the mildness of autumn.

A breathing structure, rising up from the soil, whose arch seems eroded, sculpted, by the breeze, provides a space in which visitors can experience new sensations. From the damp earth to the gentle darkness, the senses of smell, touch and hearing are called on in an altogether extraordinary way.

An unprecedented concert awaits in the centre of the arch.

Are the sounds animal? Plant? Aquatic? Mineral? A series of receptors dotted about the garden pick up the sounds of the grass and prick visitors’ ears up to its gentle melody.

A grass song fills our ears.

As we leave this musical chamber, our ears still ringing with the phonic exploration of this meadow, our awareness of the actual space around us will be heightened. This experience inspires a deeper, closer contemplation of the landscape. Our imagination will be sparked.

DESIGNERS

Alexandra ÉPÉE, scenographer and visual artist, Flora RICH, art-object designer, and Olivier BRICHET, set designer/builder and sound designer

FRANCE

From left to right: Olivier Brichet, Alexandra Épée and Flora Rich

After obtaining a scientific baccalaureate, option “Visual Arts, Drama and Dance”, Alexandra Épée continued her studies in the field of Applied Arts. In 2006, she enrolled in the scenography section of the National Higher School of Decorative Arts in Paris. Since then, her work has focused on the relationship between body, space and environment. In addition to stage design, she also applies herself to urban space, one example being the project implemented on the esplanade of the National Library of France in 2009. Today, she works in theatre, event management, cinema and the luxury sector.

Born in 1988, Flora Rich obtained a baccalaureate in Applied Arts at Lycée des Arènes in Toulouse before going on to study object design at the National Higher School of Decorative Arts from 2006 to 2011. Her creations go from window gardens to sculptures in public parks and gardens. Through her work, she seeks to put citizens’ lives in resonance with the nature that surrounds them and make heard the tales it has to tell us. In 2012, she exhibited her “Petite Nature” project at Espace 104 in Paris and her collaborative project “La Tête en l’Herbe” at the Tuileries Garden, on the occasion of the “Jardins, Jardin” fair.

After training at the Angers School of Fine Arts, Olivier Brichet continued his research on visual and sound perception/representation of space in the scenography section of the National Higher School of Decorative Arts in Paris from 2008 to 2011. He has produced two documentaries, “Ljo Komoe_Mali, 2006” and “In Dakar Off Dak’art biennal_Sénégal, 2008”, commissioned by Harmattan-TV. He will be in residence at the Studio Theatre in Vitry-sur-Seine in September 2013 for the play “AnEchoïcSpeech”, of which he is author, director, set designer and electro-acoustic sound designer. In parallel, he works as set builder, stagehand and assistant director, in particular for Laboratoires d’Aubervilliers, and lends regular assistance to Sylvain Ravasse in prototyping new stringed instruments.

DESIGNERS

GARDEN SPONSORED BY

THE GARDEN'S PLANTS