Double Six, an imposing sculpture by Cécile Raynal installed in the centre of the Normandy village of Gonneville-la-Mallet (France), was inaugurated on 1 June. Contemporary yet linked to the memory of the site, this bronze and steel work builds a bridge between past and future.
Artist Cécile Raynal invites residents and visitors to Gonneville-la-Mallet, a Normandy village less than ten kilometres from the famous cliffs of Étretat, to witness a strange scene. On a table around which four characters are gathered, a domino effect has just occurred: the pieces of the game, collapsed on top of each other, draw a circular arc in front of the man – still holding two dominoes in his left hand – who seems have set off the movement.
However, the chain reaction seems to continue in the gestures and attitudes of the other figures: a woman throws her arms skywards, a teenager looks down to write or draw. A larger-than-life hare also stands on a stool, facing away from the scene. It acts as a link between the installation and the viewers, whom it seems to be asking: what did you see?
A fifth item completes the installation: a travel bag, placed on the ground a short distance from this curious assembly. A sign of departure or arrival?
In this “post-event” scene, there is no mutual gaze or eye contact between the people involved, as if everyone were looking elsewhere for the meaning of what has just happened: to their thoughts, their notes or the sky. Invited to join the group, the spectators are naturally led to imagine what is happening here and tell their own story, to themselves or to others.
Tales and Memories
Open to a wide range of associations and interpretations, the Double Six sculpture draws on many sources: starting with artist Cécile Raynal’s memories of her first contact with life in the village, where she set up her studio 12 years ago. While staying at the Auberge des Vieux-Plats (a local institution), she attended a game of dominoes played by locals, tourists and farmers from the surrounding area. This starting point was subsequently enriched by other references, including Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, the famous novel by Lewis Carroll that has inspired her work for several years now.
Commissioned by Hervé Lepileur, Mayor of Gonneville-la-Mallet, and the municipal team, Double Six is a permanent installation, which is contemporary yet linked to the memory of the village and present in the public space as a place of gathering and exchange. As writer and translator Agnès Desarthe, who wrote the preface to the book published to mark the occasion, points out: “The sculpture created by Cécile Raynal (…) invites us to remember without regretting, to honour tradition without forgetting the future, by starting a new game of dominoes that builds a bridge between past and future.”
The square that now bears its name has been laid out around Double Six. Samuel Craquelin, the landscape architect in charge of the entire village centre redevelopment project, is the designer and project manager.
Double Six (bronze, 2024)
Place Guy de Maupassant
76280 Gonneville-la-Mallet, France
Learn more about commissioned art by Cécile Raynal:
Winston Churchill
Olympe de Gouges
