Sacred Fire (2024...)
Hephaestus's Forge
It was on the occasion of the Paris Olympic Games that I created my first monumental installation in the heart of nature: a fire, because it is the only universal symbol of the Games that has traversed the ages to reach us. I made it an alchemical fire, only gradually realizing that it was my own matrix of fireOn the opening night, a hundred candles illuminated the site.
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A Place of Powerful Chthonic Energy
Among the proposed sites, there was this former millstone quarry. The chthonic power* emanating from it impressed me. It was ideal for summoning the fire of Hephaestus from the entrails of the Earth. Moreover, the place had all the potential to be transformed into an abandoned ancient site and possessed all the necessary materials (clay, stone) for the work.
Labor-intensive work
For six months, I cleared and landscaped the site, securing the quarry face, cutting down dead trees, and sorting the stone blocks.
The excavation of the eight-meter-diameter basin was carried out in the rain, which compacted the clay recovered from the hillside face.
The retaining wall of the basin was built entirely with stones from the site, using traditional dry-stone techniques, preserving their mossy faces. Steps were carved into the hillside to provide an overall view and enhance the atmosphere: they recall the tiers of ancient theaters and soften the landscape.
The flames were crafted from slices of stone quarried on-site using a corner chisel and sledgehammer, then shaped with a chisel before being sealed with clay onto the sandstone and clay base. The fire rises more than 2.20 meters above the basin.
The meander and the arms of the compass rose were shaped on-site with lime mortar tinted in the mass. The coloration resulted from iron oxides. Coal dust was scattered around the basin to accentuate the contrasts.
And Ever Since...
Things didn't stop on the evening of June 7, 2024. The site continues to evolve, and new intuitions are gradually taking shape. A path populated by sylvans (or kodama)* winds through the original chaos of scattered stones. During his visit, Louis Aubert-Fournier intuitively installed a sculpture that turned out to be a Prometheus (without initially making the connection to the fire!) and a hydra. And other projects are in gestation...
Louis A.-F.
creating his Prometheus
