ORA

ORA opens the door of the oratory chapel of Nemours’ castle to contemporary artists.

ORARE, a multimedia installation by Cécile Beau.

Invited in 2026, in residency In Situ for research and production, Cécile Beau opens the third chapter of ORA, revisiting her installation Aphélie, originally created in 2024 for a solo exhibition at Abbaye de Maubuisson. Inspired by some string instruments dating from the 16th century and traditionally played with a bow, the instruments are here activated by electromagnets. In collaboration with Nicolas Montgermont, Cécile Beau create an undulating, repetitive composition that resonates with the unique acoustics of the oratory. During her residency, Cécile Beau also explored the surrounding region to investigate a small sample of the immense richness of the prehistoric rock engravings of Seine-et-Marne. Continuing her research into phenomena too distant, too slow, or too subtle for human perception, she drew inspiration from certain varieties of these mysterious rupestrian motifs, re-transcribing them as patterns in carded wool on felt. The resulting tapestry recalls those that once adorned castles.

Like a musical score, this assemblage of engravings enters into dialogue with the suspended instruments facing it. Together, the wool motifs and sonic materials form layered presences that evoke the original function of the oratory as a place of storytelling and successive resonances.

• 

  Marie Losier

• 

  FRIEDRICH ANDREONI