Project proposed by the management of Nantes Métropole’s Nature et Jardins office.
Following in the footsteps of Claude Ponti, Pedro and Johann Le Guillerm, Jean Jullien has been adding his touch to the Jardin des plantes since the summer of 2020. Down the different paths, amidst the pond and the creeks, on the grass and around the trees and branches… he has set up monumental figures representing fantastic and fun characters exclusively designed for Nantes’ botanical gardens.
Visitors discovered the exhibition’s first four installations : La Coiffe (“The Headdress”), Le Ratisseur (“The Raker”), Les Enrouleurs (“The Huggers”) and L’Arroseur (“The Sprinkler”). This summer, three new characters will join the group: L’Observateur (“The Observer”), Le Passeur (“The Smuggler”), Le Siesteur (“The Napper”)…
This exhibition, presented in three parts since 2020, is completed during 22 summer with three new creations, two of which come out of the garden …
In December 2022, 5 installations leave the Jardin des Plantes for good: the Ratisseur, the Coiffe, the Enrouleurs, the Siesteur and the Arroseur. The Spinner, the Observer and the Passer-by remain to welcome visitors at the entrances to the garden.
The two creations that escaped into the city are still visible: the Hisseur on the façade of the Hôtel de Ville in Rue de Strasbourg and the Débitumeur close to the château.
Born in Nantes, Jean Jullien has already left quite a mark on his hometown. He is known for his beloved posters portraying some of the city’s best-known sites, and for his work Le Nid (“The Nest”) which was perched on the top floor of Tour Bretagne – an emblem for Nantes as a travel destination from 2012 to 2020 (the tower is currently closed for renovation). Greatly inspired by pop culture – both from his childhood and from today – Julien has created a fanciful and sensory universe through his exhibitions, books, and ad campaigns for which he is commissioned both at home and throughout the world.
5 Rue Ecorchard, 44000 Nantes
How to get there?
2 accès principaux : rue Ecorchard, gare Nord / Place Sophie-Trébuchet
Tramway ligne 1, arrêt Gare SNCF Nord.
7 days a week: 8:30 AM – 8:00 PM.
