Silo — Commissioned by the
Fine Arts Museum of Bernay

infos

Silo — Commissioned by the
Fine Arts Museum of Bernay

infos

SILO

  • Commisionned by
    The Fine Arts Museum of Bernay (Normandy, France) and Martin Roch
  • Place
    Abbey Church of Bernay's Fine Arts Museum (Normandy, France)
  • Date
    September 2018
  • Materials
    Salted popcorns, steel tubes, mirrors, wood, slings, white fluorescent tubes, arduino, electronics, motor wiring
  • Dimensions
    600 cm (h) x 150 cm (l) x 150 cm (w)
First image

The Fine Arts Museum of Bernay wished to highlight its architectural heritage through a contemporary re-reading. 
The starting point of this carte blanche took place in the most emblematic building of the town, Notre-Dame de Bernay abbey church and related its singular history.

Once deconsecrated after the French Revolution, the edifice turned to a corn warehouse to store the cereal harvests of surrounding lands. Throughout this function, the original choir was demolished and a brick facade in the style of a factory was built instead.

Its transformation and change of identity was at the source of our inspiration. Fascinated by the past of the place, we wished to recall a trace of this popular and commercial use while reintroducing the grain inside the abbey church.

Silo is a site specific and evolutive installation, reminding by its shape the agricultural tanks and grain storage. Two geometrical forms composed the installation : a graphic and structural volume to which is suspended the grain silo designed as a faceted mirror dodecagon.
As a step sideways, the corn contained in the silo is replaced by pop corn which sparsely flows away.