The location chosen for the construction of this sculpted monument overlooks the route travelled by the ITER convoys as well as the EDF canal.
These two passageways, over land and water, both lead to Saint-Paul-lez-Durance / Cadarache where the ITER international research facility is under construction. This location offers an interesting “resonance” with the ITER program.
The artist comments:
Some signs or symbolic forms will evoke the object of ITER’s work and the remarkable commitment of the seven ITER Members to work long-term together achieve a common goal: the mastery, on Earth, of the physical phenomenon leading to hydrogen fusion to create sustainable, accessible, and clean energy. ITER research will be represented on one of the sides of the unifying element of the work – the Wall-Pillar – as well as on all the reclining stones, which mirror the “pillar of dedication” at the Abbeye de Silvacane.
These two elements are entirely dedicated to the light of the Sun and its energy. It makes sense, therefore, to integrate symbols or diagrams into these two elements in relation with harnessing the energy of the Sun, which the ITER tokamak aims to achieve. Each block of the Pillar will be associated with one of the Members of ITER. These symbols, which, after consultation with the ITER, will bear witness to the present time and will engage the viewer. Here, everything must evoke and suggest, but leave the visitor free to interpret their emotions and to surrender to the energy of a place that converses with the distant reaches of the sky. This place becomes an in-between space – an interrogation of the past and the future. A testimony to contemporary research.
Jean-Paul Philippe
Courtesy Galerie Jeanne Bucher Jaeger, Paris
On the ITER site, at the main entrance, a simplified replica of the Wall-Pillar will also be constructed. This replica will be an adaptation of the unifying element of the sculpted ensemble installed at La Roque d’Anthéron.
This smaller monument, built from seven blocks representing the seven Members of ITER, will be elevated to a maximum height of 8 metres. It will be a true copy oriented according to the path of the Sun, in a play of light and shadows.