For several weeks now, a strange edifice has been delicately integrated into the Place de la Concorde. Next to the obelisk, a spider-like pyramid rises into the sky. With its metal mesh and car headlights, there’s no doubt that this is a work of contemporary art. What’s its name? PHARES, an ecologically responsible structure built by French companies that respect the environment.
We try to understand; we stop between the fountain and the cars. We look up. It’s high. It’s silver, gold, we’re not sure. As the pyramid rises into the sky, its color brightens, borrowing a few notes from the sun. On closer inspection, it’s exactly the same as the tip of the obelisk now. Getting closer…
At the very bottom, at man’s height, small yellow balls attract our attention. An army of sharp-spined bushes, vaguely spreading a citrus scent around them. Lemons. We’d like to touch the pyramid’s triangles, which bear an uncanny resemblance to the tip of the obelisk; for the sake of the work – and for fear of the thorns – we refrain. We touch with our eyes…
Then, slowly, night falls. The work lights up. The mood changes. An immense wave of light washes over the square. A wave that soothes and reassures.
A memory, then: that of a little curly-haired woman smiling at her work, a sensor on her finger. Milène Guermont.
“You are PHARES,” she says. You can make it shine. All you have to do is live. And the structure begins to pulse to the rhythm of your heartbeat captured live….
Every day until December 11, come to Place de la Concorde to light up Paris and meet the artist.
http://www.phares-paris.com/fr
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