{"id":134347,"date":"2026-04-09T12:19:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T10:19:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.levoyageanantes.fr\/oeuvres\/la-machine-du-sacre\/"},"modified":"2026-06-11T15:23:42","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T13:23:42","slug":"la-machine-du-sacre","status":"publish","type":"oeuvre","link":"https:\/\/www.levoyageanantes.fr\/en\/artworks\/la-machine-du-sacre\/","title":{"rendered":"La Machine du Sacr\u00e9"},"content":{"rendered":"

Built between 1844 and 1869, and rebuilt after wartime damage, Basilique Saint-Nicolas forms the backdrop to Ali Cherri\u2019s installation inspired by Jules Verne\u2019s little-known A Priest in 1839. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

In it, Verne imagines a church bell collapsing inside the basilica: the sacred gives way to violence, which is then absorbed by administration \u2013 the traces are erased, the building repaired, and the event is normalized. Cherri calls this process \u201cthe mechanics of the sacred\u201d: behind every elevation lies an infrastructure capable of breaking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For this project, he focuses on the sculptures of the musician angels adorning the basilica\u2019s spire. Some original figures disappeared during restoration and were replaced with replicas. Cherri fragments these forms: wings and trumpets are cast in industrial aluminum at architectural scale. Opposite them is an angel\u2019s head modeled in clay. Against the permanence of the metal stands the fragility of that which erodes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The piece rests on an exposed wooden framework, somewhere between construction site, ruin, and suspended reconstruction. It reveals the structure rather than the fa\u00e7ade \u2013 the support rather than what is displayed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Between construction, ruin and renewal, the work asks: what deserves to be elevated today?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>Find out more in the press kit<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\t<\/div><\/section>\n\t

Ali Cherri was born in 1976 in Beirut, Lebanon. He lives and works in Paris and Beirut, and is represented by Galerie Imane Far\u00e8s and Galerie Almine Rech, Paris. He was awarded the Silver Lion for his participation in the 59th International Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennale in 2022.
\nArtist’s Instagram account.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>\t

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By the same artist<\/h2><\/div>
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Sommeils l\u00e9gers<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/a><\/div>
Sommeils l\u00e9gers<\/a><\/div><\/section>\t
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Heritage Moment<\/h2>

Upon Ali Cherri\u2019s request, and as part of this project, Nantes\u2019 Heritage and Archaeology services, will present one of the eight original angels from Basilique Saint-Nicolas inside the church.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>\t\n\t