The Dwelling of Landscapes

For the “Terr’Eau Fertile” art trail of the Art’Six exhibition in the park of the Château des Arcis at Meslay-du-Maine, Alice Stevens created an installation that places landscape at the heart of the visitor’s experience.

The word “landscape” was born in painting. From its earliest definitions it has been tied to sensory perception: the experience of the person looking cannot be separated from the idea of landscape. A landscape comes to life in the perception of whoever contemplates it; it is born both in the eye and in the heart. Through the theme of fertile earth and water, exploring how landscapes are created and interpreted means placing living things on a scale that runs from the intimate, that of the plant, to the harmonious whole that is the landscape.

The installation is a painted fabric tent offering immersion in the landscapes of the park. Two openings cut into the fabric frame key spots of the site like paintings. Designed for an adult and a child to sit side by side facing the openings, it offers a poetic, immersive reading of the park. The ink-painted motifs mix the park’s trees and flowers, garden plans, topiaries and statues above a living, moving ground.