Dark Orne – Along the River
Along the river was developed during a 3 years group residency (2012-2016) at ESAM Arts School, in Caen, Normandy. Commissioned by l’Agence de l’Eau in partnership with Limoges University, artists Jana Winderen, Thierry Weyd and Agnès Villette, with Camille Prunet theorist, were invited to research and produce a creative proposal after the rewildning of the Orne river. Second longest river in Normandy after the Seine, the Orne possesses numerous dams, built during the 19th century, they used to produce electricity for the local industry.
Rewidling the river meant dismantling the dams and redesigning the landscape along the banks. Dark Orne explores a limited territory along the river, near May sur Orne, and the rewilding project launched after the dismantling of l’Enfernay dam. Deconstructing and displacing notions of ecology and nature and questioning inherited expectations on wildness, Dark Orne explores the ubiquitous presence of Japanese Knotweed along the banks, an invasive plant thriving on nitrate polluted soils. Dark Orne questions paradoxes and expectations of an aestheticisted nature infused by toxicity.
Dark Orne was exhibited in Seconde Nature at ESAM Caen, in October-November 2016, and La Maison du Perche, France. Along the river, a photographic essay is published by Caen Art School, in the collective publication Seconde Nature.