Jardin Levat – Marseille
Since 2019
Technic: Painting, Layer number 2
There are places that leave their mark. In Marseille, in the Belle de Mai, there is the former Levat convent, which has become a garden.
I spent 4 years and a lockdown there. This place was my breath of fresh air in the city: its garden, its walls, its enclosure, its nettles, its mallows, its poppies, bees, shared gardens.
Our workshops. Mine, huge (lucky me), on the ground floor. There were rituals (I think of the one I did with Joakim Jara), births (I think of Antonin), mourning (Clem), loves, breakups, successes, failures, shared joys, tensions.
There was this important place to give to the associations, schools and residents of the neighborhood.
There have been so many stories, so many secrets, so many evenings, and so many hours of hard work for me, going as far as burnout I’m not afraid to say it anymore.
In short, I decided to leave, I couldn’t stay there any longer for many reasons that I won’t even tell, because I decided to share something positive above all, that the “shit” is digested and now comes to feed the regrowth of the flowers with their fertilizers. Not to dwell on them but to let them pass.
At the convent there was the sisters’ legacy, buried debris left behind her.
This sculpture was found underground.
Who is it? Jesus? An apostle? Saints? Strangers?
Two men.
Embraced, sharing an emotion.
Repainting them in the colors of the rainbow was obvious.
From my name to Christian origins, I, Marie, Artist, passing through, decide to adorn this biblical statue with a spectral aura.
Because these rainbow colors are universally recognized to represent peace, living together, acceptance of all.
It is a hymn to acceptance, to love.
Whether these two men are a chaste or physically passionate exchange, love connects them, while they are alive.
Welcome, Share, accept, to understand, protect and defend.
Reason those who used these colors: Greenpeace with the rainbow warrior, a boat dedicated to defending aquatic life, the rainbow nation that Nelson Mandala spoke of, and the LGBTQIA+ movement.
Respect for the living, for all beings, regardless of the color of their skin, their definition of gender or their sexuality.
Together. In Love.