Coraux de la Liberté

For Paris Design Week, artist Aude Franjou has created a spectacular installation entitled ‘Coraux de la Liberté’ (Corals of Freedom) in the Tour de Juillet on the Place de la Bastille. Made entirely from linen fibre, the work consists of dozens of coral branches that spread out across the inner rotunda, from floor to ceiling. The progression is accompanied by a subtle gradient of colours, from immaculate white to deep red, like a metaphor for rebirth, an elevation towards life. This theme finds its meaning in the typology of the place and its historical context. Commissioned by Napoleon I in 1806, a monumental fountain was originally to be built to celebrate freedom and the arrival of water in the capital via the Ourcq and Saint-Martin canals passing under the square. The base of this fountain now serves as the pedestal for the July Column, erected in 1835. The Amis invite you to discover this unique project, whose exhibition dates have been extended until the Journées du Patrimoine