A Material That Carries the Memory of the Living
Dust, rust, wool, nails, dead skin, concrete: Lionel Sabatté works with materials situated at the margins of the living and of waste. In his hands, these residues become the site of a permanent transformation, blurring the boundaries between animal, plant and human kingdoms. At the heart of his work, oxidation, that is, the reaction of iron and oxygen, gives rise to compositions in which rust and pigments become the visible traces of a matter in perpetual change.
Rewilding the Gaze
Deer, wolves, wild boars, bears, dogs, birds: the most emblematic figures of the museum move through the exhibition, but never in their expected form. The dog becomes a wolf again, the ewes transform into wild creatures, the birds become landscapes. Between construction and ruin, power and fragility, these figures question loss and alteration as necessities of the living rather than as threats.
A Route Through the Whole Museum
The exhibition opens in the courtyard with Mort fertile, a monumental bronze sculpture depicting a deer whose antlers sink into the earth, where the image of a loss becomes a promise of rebirth. The route then unfolds through the temporary exhibition room and then through the rooms of the permanent collection.