Geysir Ouest-Lumière, Perennial installation gushing in situ, Basin of the cloister of Royaumont Abbey

with the support of Marie-Christine Daudy, Office des Résidences à Forts Potentiels Energétiques (ORFPE), and Francis Maréchal, Département du Rayonnement Permanent (DERAPE).

Yann Toma, president for life of Ouest-Lumière, a fictional company producing and distributing artistic energy, recreates an impressive geyser of water in the basin of the cloister of the Abbaye de Royaumont.
This contemporary work of art takes place in the heart of a magical place, the Abbey of Royaumont, founded by Saint Louis in the 13th century. The cloister of the abbey is organized around its garden designed by Claude-Nicolas Ledoux. The work Geysir Ouest-Lumière is a commission that is located in the center of the garden over the entire length of the basin and draws on the very identity of the abbey, which is in fact its primary authenticity: it brings out a balance between the presence of water and Cistercian sobriety.
The inscription of the work on this historical site brings a spirit of energy circulation through the gushing of water and its bubbling, it allows the resurgence of underground energy flows. Thus, the geyser must be considered as the embodiment of the accumulation of the artistic energy stored by the activity of the artists in residence within the abbey of Royaumont.
The work is materialized by the activity of water: its presence, its regular eruption and its illumination. A magical water with multiple virtues...
In its active phase, it reaches a height of twelve meters. The work of Yann Toma owes its name to the site of Geysir, which is located 60 km from Reykjavik in Iceland. Geysir is the geyser that gave its name to all geysers in the world. It comes from the Icelandic verb gjósa (to spout). The emergence of water would be the saving expulsion of an overflow of energy, the embodiment of a joyful and liberating enjoyment in relation to every living person on Earth. The geyser can thus be observed as an allegory of the fulgurating creative thought. One can also see an orgasmic dimension, Geysir would become the symbol of the outcome of the ascent of desire.
Yann Toma's work invites us to reflect on the use of water as artistic material. Geysir is an allegory of the activity of the world, the manifestation of a vital wealth: water. Using water as a creative base is here a humanitarian act invested in world affairs.




Perennial installation gushing in situ, Basin of the cloister of the abbey of Royaumont