Débarrassons Le Plancher By Byme Architecture
- Words
- Sarah Press
Composed of 3000 small wooden cubes, the installation of the artist duo Fanny Bouchet and Emmanuelle Messier evokes the feeling of losing ground below the feet.
Titled “Débarrassons le plancher” (let’s get rid of the wooden floor), the installation was realized in the context of a festival organized by the Center of National Monuments at Aigues-Mortes, an ancient medieval city in the south of France. Imbedded in the city’s fortifications, the art project aims to reinterpret the historic wooden floor of a room called “l’assomoir” (the deadfall). Back in those days, a hole in the floor was used by defenders to throw or pour harmful substances or objects, such as arrows or scalding water down on attackers. The installation highlights the ancient custom that took place in this room. Time seems to have stopped while the wooden floor almost appears to be swallowed by the hole in the middle of the room. The installation offers visitors a contemporary reinterpretation of the fates that played here. Installed on a wooden framework, the artists manually cut and glued every single cube to create this stepped structure.
All images © Byme Architecture