{"id":134354,"date":"2026-04-09T12:19:04","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T10:19:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.levoyageanantes.fr\/oeuvres\/leau-est-la\/"},"modified":"2026-06-11T14:20:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T12:20:12","slug":"leau-est-la","status":"publish","type":"oeuvre","link":"https:\/\/www.levoyageanantes.fr\/en\/artworks\/leau-est-la\/","title":{"rendered":"L’eau est l\u00e0"},"content":{"rendered":"

Beneath the square flows the river. This was once the shoreline at the tip of \u00cele Feydeau \u2013 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.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Dominique Petitgand creates sound works that do not reconstruct the past but rather open cracks in the present.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Square Daviais, he collected stories from Nantes\u2019 residents \u2013 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 \u201cmemory of water.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The work has neither beginning nor end. It loops continuously, like water rippling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Its title functions as a paradoxical statement: the water is no longer seen, but heard and imagined. It\u2019s a seaside r\u00eaverie in the heart of the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<\/div><\/section>\n\t

Dominique Petitgand was born in Laxou in 1965. He lives and works in Paris.
\nArtist’s Instagram account<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>\t

\n\t\n\n\t<\/div><\/section>\n\t

Square Jean-Baptiste Daviais<\/h2>

Located in the heart of Nantes, Square Jean-Baptiste Daviais has been shaped by the city\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

Before its demolition in 1930, as part of the filling in of the Loire\u2019s branches, the beach at the tip of \u00cele 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 \u00c9tienne Coutan designed a semi-circular, sunken garden, forming the prow of the former \u00cele Feydeau. Today, the square\u2019s surroundings are distinguished by the presence of community gardens and green spaces, reinforcing its collective vocation.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>\t\n\t