"The Nature in the volcanic region of Auvergne has something definitely sacred. It seems to be invisibly linked with the idea of art. Our approach, as artists, is to search this specific nature in order to let the fear, the mystery, the metaphysical and spiritual questioning appears from the volcanic memory".
A gigantic skeleton has arisen from these excavations of the Puy de Serveix ‘summit. It draws a backbone along the peak of the mountain. Though it recalls the shape of a mammoth, its dimension – more than a 100 meters long – exceeds the biggest dinosaur’s skeleton ever discovered (25 meters long). It belongs to an unknown specie. This discovery is a poetic and phantasmagorical interpretation of this specific natural environment.
This monumental sculpture draws a narrative correspondence between Nature and Art. The idea is to set up an enigma within the landscape creating a deep impact upon the spectators’ imagination. He will be driven to search the depth and the mystery of our origins.
This artwork has been designed according to the scale of the magnificent landscape. It has to be observed from a certain distance and tend to disappear when ones comes to close. A viewpoint indicator – 300 meters from the summit – goes with this sculpture.
Despite its monumental dimensions, this work is extremely simple and does not include any technical prowess. The whole plant is built of wood assembled differently depending on the needs of different parts of the instalation:
- elements named A and C (the vertebrae of the tail and head) consist of blades of two meters long, planted in the ground like fence posts pastures.
- elements named B (ribs) consist of blades of 2 to 4 meters long, assembled together, and strongly fixed over the slopes of the pastures.
- element D (defense) consists of several elements in wood frame, assembled and painted in ivory-white. Two types of fasteners have been planned: one on the ground at the base of the defense, and a tie rod at the top. In the middle the defense rests on the ground and adapts to the slope according to the site and the specific location.
