Artist Cyril Pedrosa was invited to design a new chapter in the story of Wallace fountains, weaving a tale in four chapters and four locations throughout the city.
The agency in charge of Nantes’ drinking fountains wished to draw the public’s attention to the availability of water throughout the city. It has done this through the emblematic fontaine Wallace – those magnificent green fountains found around Paris.
Artist Cyril Pedrosa was invited to design a new chapter in the story of Wallace fountains, weaving a tale in four chapters and four locations throughout the city.
“The sculptures on these fountains are meant to embody Goodness, Charity, Simplicity, and Sobriety, carrying a dome on their shoulders. However noble and virtuous this role may be, they had neither chosen nor desired it. So, like countless other women throughout the world, the four caryatids of the Wallace fountains have patiently organized their escape…”
Cyril Pedrosa was born in Poitiers in 1972. He lived in Nantes until 2017, and now lives and works in Paris.
Le Monde special report, ‘Water in the city. The great adventure of the Wallace fountains’. Available at the official Voyage Bazaar and in the Voyage à Nantes bookshops (HAB Galerie, Château des ducs de Bretagne, Machines de l’île).
All summer long, take a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the fountains at the Durance bookshop (4 allée d’Orléans). Film duration: 15 min
This work was produced with the support of : CIC Ouest, Nantes Métropole with the Nantes City Lab in partnership with JC Decaux.
Square Louis Bureau, Nantes
How to get there?
Parking(s) nearby: Parking Graslin, Parking Médiathèque, Parking Descartes, Parking Gloriette 2, Parking Aristide Briand
Public transport: Copernic, Delorme, Édit de Nantes, Médiathèque
Self-service bicycles: Jean V (n°35), Racine (n°33), Delorme (n°12), Alger (n°36), Médiathèque (n°34), Calvaire (n°11), Guist'hau Sud (n°26), Bourse (n°31), Lamoricière (n°75), Aristide Briand (n°15)
The fountains are closed for the winter by Nantes Métropole at the end of November. They reopen at the beginning of April each year.
Possibility of perceiving the work through touch. Episode of the Permanent Journey podcast coming soon.