Bordeaux's light pools will sparkle from June 10

Water, art, concrete, and the genius of Klimt ... The former Bordeaux submarine base, will soon be on June 10, the setting of the Bassins de lumière, an " authentic challenge artistic ”, according to the designer Augustin de Cointet, the managing director of Culturespaces, who created this new exhibition space.

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During a visit reserved for the press, he revealed how this artistic project was born in Bordeaux: “ When we saw the place for the first time, we had a flash. The gigantism did not scare us, the difficulty of the project motivated us: the concrete, the gigantism, the water, the reflections ... "

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This monumental space consists of four parallel pools, 110 m long and 22 m wide, with a 12 m ceiling, which can be crossed by walkways over the water to encourage strolling through an immersive experience where the works digital audio slides on the walls and is reflected on the water.
The place offers 3,000 m² of walking and 12,000 m² of projection, thanks to 90 video projectors, 80 speakers and 100 km of optical fiber.

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Augustin de Cointet returned to his initial vision of the Basins of Lights: "All the technical problems due to humidity or gigantism really had to pass afterwards, we did not want to do something technologically perfect but which had no more soul. It was necessary to remain confronted with this building, with its strong and hard history, and to manage to dress it with something which will project it towards a more laughing future. "

600,000 m3 of reinforced concrete poured by the Nazi occupier

For art and architecture historian Mathieu Marsan, Bordeaux has “ turned its back” for a long time on the submarine base and its 600,000 m3 of reinforced concrete, completed in 1943 by the Nazi occupier. After World War II, it was economically impossible and technically very dangerous to destroy.

The historian also made a point of specifying: “It was not until the end of the 20th century that we were able to discover the base, with spaces linked to yachting and contemporary art. In the base, we are in the dark, confronted with the works. Whether you are sensitive to art or not, there is bound to be a sensation that will be created. ”

Two months late due to the health crisis, the digital screenings that the first visitors will be able to admire, in limited and masked numbers, will be devoted to the Austrian painter Gustav Klimt, author of the famous Kiss , and to the German Paul Klee, in a shorter format and to the tunes of Mozart's The Magic Flute .

With the Bassins de Lumières de Bordeaux, Culturespaces, which is already piloting L'Atelier des lumière in Paris and Carrières de lumière in Baux-de-Provence and which has invested 14 million euros here, has just created "the largest center for 'digital art in the world' according to its designer Augustin de Cointet.