Eight bronze sculptures by Marine de Soos have been positioned in public spaces in the city of Fondettes, near Tours, France. Arrayed from Halle de la Morandière to the botanical garden, these serene figures invite pedestrians to slow down and engage in a conversation that stretches beyond cultures and beyond time about what it means to be alive.
“Conversations” is the name given to this outdoor exhibition of Marine de Soos‘s sculptures organized by the city of Fondettes. Conversations between the works themselves, with the space around them and, of course, with the pedestrians who cross their path.
These eight large sculptures show us men and women engaged in everyday activities: a fisherman here, a flutist there, a child at play, a young mother cradling her newborn in her arms. These eight figures appear to be from somewhere else: another place and perhaps even another time.
Marine de Soos spent part of her childhood in Africa. Her memories from that time are now interspersed with other images that feed her vocabulary of composite imagery. The “somewhere else” that the artist shows us could be an Arcadia of uncertain geography and time, where life unfolds at a pace more in tune with nature.
What is striking about these figures is their calm, which is underscored by their presence in this public space. Marine de Soos‘s sculptures are indifferent to the frenzy of urban life and encourage us to slow down. With their dignity and their simplicity, and their serene facial expressions, they resonate with each of us. Beyond their differences, they speak to us about the universality of emotion, the strength and fragility of our condition, and the simple joy of being alive.
Marine de Soos works with poetry and finesse to share a moment of everyday grace and a moment of creation: “I can only work when I am feeling emotional. I’m inspired by everything that I see in life that moves me: it might be a gesture of the hand, the position of a foot, or a tilt of the head. These gestures and these images contain energy, joy and the full range of feelings.”
