Ariane Michel's Tidal Art: 'La Rhétorique des marées – Vol. 2' at La Criée

Ariane Michel's exhibition 'La Rhétorique des marées – Vol. 2' at La Criée in Rennes presents her latest film shown as a triptych, alongside eroded works from the first volume. The initial exhibition, 'La Rhétorique des marées – Vol. 1', took place from July 5 to September 30, 2015, on the coast of Esquibien in Finistère, where 21 artists created works along the coastal path, subject to tidal forces. Michel's film, shot from site visits to installation, captures the elements' effect on the artifacts over a single day, following the tidal cycle. The protagonists are animals, plants, and minerals, with humans appearing in the background. Michel, an animist artist, uses found objects as wind instruments and records the tides' poetic sound. Anthropologist Philippe Descola calls her films 'de-anthropocentrized', decolonizing Eurocentrism. Drawing on Amerindian cosmology and Eduardo Viveiros de Castro's perspectivism, Michel's cinema decenters the gaze, exploring heterogeneous viewpoints. The exhibition includes works by 21 artists, including Virginie Barré, Julien Bismuth, Michel Blazy, and others.