The same piece of land under our feet

The same piece of land
under our feet

The series of embroideries and photographs The same piece of land under our feet explores the relationship between memory and landscape based on the former site of the Atlantic Wall in Norway.

The Atlantic Wall is a line of fortification built between 1942 and 1944 along the European coasts in order to prevent the Allies from landing. When walking along these historical sites, ambivalent feelings invade us: these beautiful landscapes, evoking daydreams, put us face to face with history and painful memory. In these strange landscapes, fortification and nature are sometimes difficult to distinguish. More than half a century after the end of the war, the soil has recovered. The bunkers have turned into concrete rocks covered by grass, immutable, watching the time pass. They draw scars on the flanks of the landscape.

The gesture of embroidery establishes a particular relationship to time, linked to contemplation. Embroidery shows as much as it hides. On the fabric, an image takes shape - not easily readable, almost like being covered by grass.