Jean-François Aillet, a sculptor living in Normandy, France, has been working for several years on a very poetic art work: the Tides’ Solitaire (le Solitaire des Marées).
The idea is to collect 7000 samples of sand from all over the world, and gather them in an original collection, which the future generations will inherit. With these sands will also be created a unique diamond, mixing a few of each of these 7000 different types of sand, named “The Tides’ Solitaire”.
For more information about “The Tides’ Solitaire” (in French)
te mana o te moana heard about this project thanks to his patron, Jean-François Clervoy, and sent to the French artist several samples:
– two handfuls of white sand from Moorea
– two handfuls of black sand from Tahiti
– two handfuls of sand from Tetiaroa atoll. This sand plays a very important role. Indeed, Tetiaroa being an important nesting area for sea turtles, it is in this sand that the eggs remain during two months after being layed, until the newborn sea turtles rise out of the buried nest to reach the sea.
– two handfuls of sand from Fangatau, a remote atoll from the Tuamotu archipelago.
Listen to the radio interview “Allô la Planète” (in French), presenting the project with the participation of Jean-François Aillet, Jean-François Clervoy and Cécile Gaspar:
http://www.aillet.com/collecte/actualite/interviews.htm
http://www.aillet.com/presse/LeMouv_19032012/AllolaplaneteLEMOUV.mp3
You too can contribute to build the “Tides’ Solitaire”
Send two handfuls of sand from where you live, and add the picture of your sampling:
>> more information (in French)…
