Félicie d’Estienne d’Orves’s ‘Soleils martiens’ at Le Lieu unique

Félicie d’Estienne d’Orves’s exhibition ‘Soleils martiens’ at Le Lieu unique in Nantes, organized by director Eli Commins with curator Sean Rose, runs until August 28, 2022, as part of the Voyage à Nantes program. The show features light and shadow installations that explore the distance between Earth and celestial bodies. Works include the ‘Étalon lumière’ series, steel bars with slowly moving lights that measure light travel time from solar system objects; ‘SN 1572 Tycho’, a light box referencing supernova data; and ‘Octaédrite’, a magnified meteorite slice. ‘Éclipse II’ reconstructs a solar eclipse, while a sunset projection is based on Mars data, accompanied by music from composer Éliane Radigue. Tables with geometric forms and artificial suns create elongated shadows reminiscent of Giorgio De Chirico’s metaphysical paintings. A photographic triptych documents the artist’s desert experiments with laser connections to celestial objects. The exhibition blends art, science, and contemplation.