La terre où les arbres rêvent, Laurent Pernot, Le Voyage à Nantes Édition 2017

Inspired by the presence of water and its role in Nantes’ history – one filled with its share of fortune and tragedy – Laurent Pernot has created a surreal landscape evocative of faraway lands. Near the fountain in Place Royale, gigantic, fossilized palm trees have been planted in dried and cracked, white soil. From the curved treetops, white, spectral characters hang, fast asleep. On this arid ground, in a context haunted by global warming, palms and humanoid figures appear to form a single unit. But, despite their peaceful slumber, it is still possible for these vulnerable beings to rise up and awaken.