Prairie

2022
Joanie Lemercier & Juliette Bibasse
Visual installation, laser, plants, computer

In the darkness, visitors discover the sample of a landscape. Powerful rays of light shine through plants chosen for their apparent banality, a collection of wild plants, grasses, and weeds. It is a portion taken from nature, rendered different and fabulous.

By revisiting a third space, coming from the outside, the installation incites us to question the ordinariness that surrounds us. Its inspiration was drawn from the concept of ‘third landscape’ developed by the French landscaper and writer Gilles Clément, which refers to ‘all those sites that, neglected or unexploited by people, offer more natural wealth in terms of biodiversity than forestry and agricultural areas’. The plants come to life, shimmer, undulate, and spark. Each leaf, stem, branch, and petal (i.e., elements that are usually insignificant) reveal themselves and become precious.

We rediscover a thousand details, while the Sublime arises from this micro landscape. Just as nature is never static, the sources of light are also in constant motion. This contemplative moment invites the viewers to pay close attention to the world surrounding us, as well as the necessity to preserve it, even in its most elementary and modestforms. The heart of this simple intervention is sober and low-tech and shows the sublimating beauty of the natural world.

This installation unveils the marvelous in what mayotherwise seem banal at first glance. It is part of a body of works that proposes new imaginary realms and “desirable futures”.