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A playful and unusual installation, a lush canopy made of unfolded white folding rulers, each forming a letter—the first letter of the name of a plant that can be grown in a greenhouse. Let your imagination wander through this forest of numbers and letters…
EXHIBITION FROM MAY 13 TO JUNE 07, 2026 Opening reception on Wednesday, May 13 at 6:30 PM (open to all) In situ installation by Cécile Andrieu. The space spontaneously inspired Cécile Andrieu to create a majestic white "chandelier" made of hundreds of unfolded folding rulers, each forming a letter—the first letter of a plant's name (e.g., Aloe vera, Begonias… Zamioculcas). Beyond its playful and unusual aspect, the installation is also designed to remind us that, like humans, plants owe their existence to the letter, to the name recorded in a register or on a label. But by tracing these letters in space with a measuring tool, she highlights the shift in notation brought about by digital technology. Indeed, while the plant keeps its name, it is, like all of us, most often identified by a numeric code that has become the measure of everything, stripping away vitality, rigidity, and the poetry of the letter. Visitors are free to let their imagination wander through this forest of numbers and letters and, during the greenhouse's opening hours, also experience its sonic properties. "The installation consists of more than 200 rulers suspended at the intersection points of cables stretched between existing eye bolts. I exploited the natural sag of the cables, played with the length of the suspension wires for the unfolded rulers, and the variable length of the letters (e.g., M shorter than L or C) to achieve the curvature of the 'chandelier.' The material was also chosen for its resistance to light, humidity, and temperature changes. As the letter, regardless of its script or language, is what is most common among human beings, the ruler, although now replaced by more sophisticated tools, is known to everyone. For a public installation open to a very wide audience, this proximity or familiarity was important to me. I wanted to create something like a majestic white 'chandelier' dotted with small red dots, an inverted pendant to the glass roof, which illuminates the site differently depending on the time of day or weather, and subtly engages the visitor. It is up to them to identify certain letters, compose a word, a text, or let their imagination wander through this forest of numbers and letters." Cécile Andrieu
Source: paris.fr — photo: ©Cécile Andrieu