Latest Version (2025)

resin, polyester, hair, varnish and scaffolding

fountain:
1360 x 1360 x 950 cm

scaffolding:
928 x 450 x 210 cm

After being displayed on Nantes Place Royale Fountain for 160 years, the fourteen bronze and marble statues are replaced with hyper realistic figures of locals.

The original historic allegories are representing the Loire river and its tributaries, eight local industries and the city itself. After monthly visits to Nantes find out which of the people of the city of today could take their places, ‘Latest Version’ was created as a contemporary city portrait with the help of many local producers.

Some former local industries remain present today, though looking vastly different (such as the wine and agriculture industries), while others have completely been replaced by new ones (the old bronze shipbuilding allegory is replaced by a current welder from the local Airbus factory, where space ship parts are being produced). Every inhabitant displayed on ‘Latest Version’ tells a story about the city as it is today, and how that current city life relates to its history.

The installation ‘Latest Version’ is on view as a part of Le Voyage A Nantes from June 2025 to early 2026. The original bronze and marble statues are displayed in an open storage on the other end of the square, opposite the fountain.