Ocre-Mer • 2022
Dimensions : 411 x 224 x 156 mm
Goatskin parchment, tinted goatskin parchment, 925 silver, brass
Acquisition
Communauté de Communes du Pays Ségali - Aveyron - France
Installation visible in Sauveterre-de-Rouergue - Aveyron - France
A veritable miniature world made of parchment, the Ocre Mer installation was conceived as a tribute to the parchment makers who worked in Sauveterre-de-Rouergue during the medieval period. Crafted from goatskin, calfskin, or lambskin, parchment replaced plant-fiber papyrus—deemed too fragile and brittle—starting in the 8th century. It subsequently became the primary writing surface prior to the arrival of paper in the West in the 14th century. In Sauveterre-de-Rouergue, parchment was used chiefly by notaries and legal professionals to draft notarial records and other administrative documents.
Arranged inside an airtight glass box, the tinted goat parchment sculpture is composed of several motifs inspired by the parchment rosettes that adorn 16th and 17th century musical instruments. These Baroque-style elements, made in a shades of tinted parchment, are cut out by hand, with a scalpel and leather punches, then superimposed on several levels so as to create a small aquatic world. Like corals, each inert and fixed ornament is animated by a play of light which seems to give them life and make them move subtly.
The brass moucharabieh that protects this little world of parchment arouses the curiosity of those who look at it and encourages them to go and see what is hidden beyond. Thus, only the most curious will be rewarded by discovering this little universe of parchment hidden away in the shelter of the north side of the Place des Arcades in Sauveterre-de-Rouergue (Aveyron-France).
