Installation, mix media, 2017.
Le Havre has always been very outward-looking: its trawlers set out to fish in Newfoundland, its cruise liners sailed to New York and today, its cargo ships head out north and south across the world’s seas. But what if Le Havre turned its gaze even further, or set its sights even higher? What if it became a cosmic port? These were the thoughts of Félicie d’Estienne d’Orves when she converted the EDF power plant, located on the banks of the René Coty basin, into a space beacon.
As from 27 May 2017, the plant’s two smokestacks will exhale in time with Mars and Venus respectively, lighting up at variable intervals adjusted to the ‘light time’ of the two planets - in other words the time it would take to travel from Mars to Earth or Venus to Earth, at the speed of light. A way for Le Havre to beat to the pulse of the solar system.
476 LEDS on 2 chimneys, programmation, 705 ft (215M) high
Production
Jean Blaise, artistic director
Artevia, delegated producer
The work benefits from the support of EDF
Collaboration
Fabio Acero, Ph.D. in Astrophysics (laboratoire AIM / CNRS)
Philips
Diffusion
Venus and Mars is part of the program “A Summer in le Havre 2017”,
celebrating the 500th anniversary of the foundation of the city and the port.
