Known for his large-scale participatory art projects, French artist JR has embarked on a new project that breathes life into a historic venue. A tree of 10,000 scanned and printed hands has sprouted in Carré Sainte-Anne, a Catholic church built in 1869 in the largely Protestant city of Montpellier as a call for unity. The venue in the south of France became an art center in 1991 and just recently reopened following seven years of renovations.
JR’s exhibition Adventice is the first commission in the revitalized space and takes its name from the Latin “ad venire,” which translates to “come from outside.” In botanical terms, the word often refers to weeds and specimens that spring up where they had not been intentionally planted.
Montpellier’s landscape is a direct result of travelers, trade, and the proliferation of opportunistic plants, according to Carré Sainte-Anne:
When the first drapery mills appeared along the banks of the Lez in the Middle Ages, unidentified flora started growing here and there. Fleece imported from Spain, North Africa, Constantinople, and Smyrna was washed in the waters, releasing these seeds from faraway lands, which grew thanks to the fertile conditions of the Mediterranean river.
Today, French gardens and landscapes pride themselves on the beauty of such diverse species living in harmony.
Always interested in drawing connections between individuals and broader social issues, JR draws on this history and contemporary issues of migration and displacement. Adventice suspends 10,000 hands from people within the local community and includes smaller wall works with similar depictions.
Set among the cavernous neo-Gothic architecture and stained-glass windows, the monumental installation celebrates the multitude of people necessary for an ecosystem to thrive. Each hand is presented as both a leaf and a seed, a sign of life and vitality and the essential component in the tree’s future.
Adventice will be on view through December 7, and visitors can contribute their hands to the work throughout the run of the exhibition.
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