1st june 2016 - 31st december 2016
Language
To celebrate its opening, La Cité du Vin has given carte blanche to photographic artist Isabelle Rozenbaum who has been following the construction site since the very beginning. Through 88 photographic prints, she is presenting her view of the building adventure. Her striking shots – works of great sculptural beauty – pay tribute to the men and women who built this site, revealing their strength and commitment over 36 months of construction.
From bare ground to initial excavations, from office drawings to their implementation on site, Isabelle Rozenbaum has been able to sensitively capture every stage of the diligent work performed by the people responsible for creating this building. Her uncompromising aim was to capture the fleeting moments when materials are transformed under the combined action of people and machinery. Her shots track the transient, forgotten moments when the building was born of concrete, wood and steel contortion. Rather than smooth, sometimes complacent images glorifying architecture, Isabelle Rozenbaum’s work instead reveals a world of sweat, vertigo, noise and fury that will leave you speechless.
The exhibition will cover three themes:
From bare ground in an up-and-coming district by the Garonne to the power of an emblematic building at the heart of an important urban development project, the images reveal the adventure of construction. La Cité du Vin carries with it the past and future story of a region.
Patrons, architects, labourers – all performed a vital function in bringing this building to fruition. Excavator, drill, crane, concrete mixer... Amid the din of machinery and the vagaries of the seasons, working people apply their energies to construction.
White stone, wet and heavy mud, concrete, steel, wood, glass – all materials tamed and brought under human control to shape a building symbolising wine’s soul and revealing the great wealth of its universal history.
