Oh Ciels, qu'allons nous faire ?
Oh Terres, qu'avons nous fait ?
Sound and visual operetta in 3 scenes
Musical composition by Stevie Wishart
Site-specific exhibitions in private homes: Chantal and Jacques Terres
L’ A.F.I.A.C, Fiac, France – 2023
My host family, called the Terres (lit. Earth), are retired but very active in local life. They have built a new house with an ingenious 6,000-litre rainwater collection system. Chantal, who is a member of the Local Heritage group, showed me around the village and talked about the issue of water, with the ten wells in the village and the ‘Eiffel’ water reservoir. The latter, located in the grounds of the château with its magnificent trees, overlooks the town hall square.
Scene 1 | OH CIELS, QU’ALLONS NOUS FAIRE ? – Oh Heavens, what are we going to do ? – is set in the town hall square, with the existing backdrop: the castle wall, the trees, the water supply, the well, etc., plus a collage of elements that I’ve introduced: a “grasshopper” (hay bail lifter), which is an old piece of farm machinery, an inflatable canoe, jerry cans of water and survival blankets. Farm machinery has always been the object of speculation among farmers, who invest under the pressure of technological innovation, reflecting our capitalist society. The artist questions the audience with an inscription of the title painted in white on the machine with the words: Oh Heavens, what are we going to do ?
Musical composition by Stevie Wishart: “Last Dance? A Baroque Tango”
Scene 2 | OH TERRES, QU’AVONS-NOUS FAIT ? – Oh Earth, What Have we Done ? – moves into one of the house’s two verandas, each offering a view of sunrise or sunset against a backdrop of scenery stretching to the black mountains overhanging the valley. Here, in ‘Côté Est’, the artist, influenced by conversations with her guests, fills the veranda with water (visual), transforming it into a kind of aquarium. The upper part of the space is covered in a survival blanket, the silver side reflecting the variations in sunrise.
Musical composition by Stevie Wishart: Soft Diffusion – The Sound of gesture for Violin, Sensors and Computer
Scene 3 | SUITE – Suite – repeats the same montage, this time from the west side, so that you can sit on a bench and admire the brilliant variations in the sunset. The stretched survival blanket can be seen from the gold side. These variations, magical moments, are reflected in this colored mirror. The house seems completely submerged as visitors stroll through. The two verandas are like two eyes watching us. In some way, the world has taken refuge in this house and questions the viewer about its destiny. Oh Heavens, what are we going to do ? Oh Earth, what have we done ?
Composition musicale de Stevie Wishart: Frozen Particules – The Sound of gesture for Violin, Sensors and Computer
