The adventure began in July 2015 on Napoléon beach in Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhône in the Camargue.
In 2016, it sailed in temporary immobility along the banks and quays of the Rhône towards Geneva and Lake Geneva in Switzerland… Before continuing in 2017 to the source towards Gletsch and the Alps.
Marseilles-based artist Abraham Poincheval1 is taking part in a project organised by Le Citron2, the national street arts centre in Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhône.
Abraham Poincheval on the Rhône
It was after the hundred-year flood of 2003 that the Rhône Plan3 came into being, as part of a global vision of the river with a section devoted to flooding.
In addition to the organisation of its specific facilities (dykes, flood zones, etc.), there is a desire to maintain a culture around the Rhône for its inhabitants, particularly with this project:
Carrying with it millennia of history of mutations, new and forgotten arms, floods and droughts, it teaches us that nothing is ever set in stone and that our environment is constantly changing.
Its passage connects territories and creates a shared imagination.
This 5-stage journey up the Rhône during the summer of 2016 is part of an artistic and educational project involving meetings, artistic projects, writing workshops and games for passers-by and residents of the towns and villages in the valley.
The next stop on Abraham Poincheval’s journey in September is Andancette in the Ardèche, on the banks of the Rhône. From 8 to 13 September, a continuous installation at the foot of the bridge in the village, with a convivial day on 11 September with entertainment and a picnic.
Travel link
- Abraham Poincheval and his unusual journey down the Rhône in a bottle , FranceTV info, July 2015
- Il a vécu dans la peau d’un ours, il habite désormais une bouteille, Télérama, July 2015
- Abraham Poincheval’s other vision of the world in his glass bottle, FranceTV info, June 2016
- Abraham Poincheval, Wikipedia ↩︎
- Art centre in Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhône, Le Citron Jaune ↩︎
- Rhône Plan 2015-2020, CPIER ↩︎