Sound installation for 24 loudspeakers
Beneath the square flows the river. This was once the shoreline at the tip of Île Feydeau – an actual island once surrounded by two branches of the Loire. In the 1930s, everything was filled in, sand buried the landscape, and a garden was created.
Dominique Petitgand creates sound works that do not reconstruct the past but rather open cracks in the present.
For Square Daviais, he collected stories from Nantes’ residents – hazy memories, sensations, and fragments rather than precise historical accounts. Recast in the present tense, these voices form the heart of a layered, intergenerational soundscape that is constantly shifting, inspired by the “memory of water.”
The installation unfolds across multiple zones. Spoken words, musical elements, and sonic bursts overlap and change depending on where visitors stand. There is no central point and no prescribed route. Listening itself becomes mobile, making the work perpetually variable.
The work has neither beginning nor end. It loops continuously, like water rippling.
Its title functions as a paradoxical statement: the water is no longer seen, but heard and imagined. It’s a seaside rêverie in the heart of the city.
Dominique Petitgand was born in Laxou in 1965. He lives and works in Paris.
Artist’s Instagram account
Square Jean-Baptiste Daviais
Located in the heart of Nantes, Square Jean-Baptiste Daviais has been shaped by the city’s transformations and movement of the river. Throughout its history, it has always been a meeting place, with an identity built around how the community used it.
Before its demolition in 1930, as part of the filling in of the Loire’s branches, the beach at the tip of Île Feydeau served a variety of purposes, ranging from a promenade with views of the Loire, to public baths, and later to the covered market of La Petite-Hollande. In 1933, as part of a major redevelopment of the city centre, architect Étienne Coutan designed a semi-circular, sunken garden, forming the prow of the former Île Feydeau. Today, the square’s surroundings are distinguished by the presence of community gardens and green spaces, reinforcing its collective vocation.
Square Daviais, Nantes
How to get there?
Parking(s) nearby: Parking Commerce, Parking CHU 1, Parking Gloriette 2, Parking Médiathèque, Parking Hôtel Dieu, Parking CHU 2, Parking Feydeau, Parking Baco-LU 2 côté CHU, Parking Graslin
Public transport: Square Daviais, Hotel Dieu, Hôtel Dieu, Gaston Veil, Médiathèque, Commerce
Self-service bicycles: Station Naolib Vélo libre-service Félix éboué (n°37), Station Naolib Vélo libre-service Duguay trouin (n°29), Station Naolib Vélo libre-service Bourse (n°31), Station Naolib Vélo libre-service Commerce (n°30), Station Naolib Vélo libre-service Quai moncousu (n°39), Station Naolib Vélo libre-service Médiathèque (n°34), Station Naolib Vélo libre-service Ricordeau (n°38), Station Naolib Vélo libre-service École d'architecture (n°77), Station Naolib Vélo libre-service Palais de justice (n°44), Station Naolib Vélo libre-service Bouffay (n°20)
Closed today.
From july 4th 2026 to september 6th 2026
