Artwork
Spirits of the Huveaune | Le Chemin des Fées - Gyptis la Fée du Moulin
Lucy + Jorge Orta, 2012-2012
- Ref: 7051
- Materials: Aluminium, epoxy paint
- Dimensions: 175 x 70 x 70cm on column 250cm
- Exhibition history: 2012 Parc du Vieux Moulin, St Loup, Marseille
- Courtesy: The Artists, Fondation de France program Nouveaux Commanditaires, Rives & Cultures, Bureau de Competences et Desirs
- Concept: The Spirits of the Huveaune is a 30km parcours of five sculptures that map the presence of the Huveaune coastal river from the massif of Sainte Baume to the ancient port of Marseille, Massilia.
Each sculpture depicts a different spirit derived from historical texts and local legends from the valley of the Huveaune. These spirits, dreaming or alert, melancholic or resolved, invest these sites like genii loci and weave an unprecedented link between the past and the present. They invite visitors to discover the Huveaune and new ways to explore the river valley. Referring to the universal water cycle, Spirits of the Huveaune aims to raise public awareness of environmental issues related to the river’s fate, thereby raising the question of water management in the future, here as elsewhere.
Legend has it that, when choosing her husband, the Ligurian princess Gyptis offered (as was the custom) water to the Greek navigator Protis. From their union Marseille was born. The figure of Gyptis symbolises the opening of the city to the Mediterranean and beyond, to other horizons, peoples and cultures. Lucy + Jorge Orta have imagined Gyptis as the spirit of Marseille’s ancient water mill, imperturbable and serene, who awaits her encounter with the sailor. Ambassador of nature, she prepares to receive her guests. In the water cycle, Gyptis refers to the condensation stage, where water vapour transforms into dew. She embodies unity and fraternity.
was inaugurated on October 13,2012 in the Parc du vieux Moulin, Marseille on the occasion of the Fete de l’Huveaune.
