Closed since the last school holidays, the Machines de l’île site reopened its doors to the public this weekend. And if the Carousel of the marine worlds is still inaccessible due to ten-year maintenance, a novelty awaited the public within the
Machine Gallery. A “swarm of butterflies” has indeed joined the mechanical bestiary, alongside the ant, the spider, the chameleon or the hummingbird.
New at the Galerie des machines this weekend: a swarm of 30 colorful butterflies. To be operated by the force of the calves #Nantes pic.twitter.com/WcuWGRA57i
— 20 Minutes Nantes (@20minutesnantes) February 6, 2022
The creation, made of stainless steel, brass and sheet metal, is made up of around thirty colored butterflies suspended in the air by spring rods. And when a voluntary spectator sits down on a kind of bicycle and begins a few strokes of the pedals, the Lepidoptera wave their wings in concert.
Funded by a patron
“It’s obviously less spectacular than the other creatures, but I still find it very poetic. There are a lot of details”, appreciates Mathilde, who visited the gallery for the second time this Sunday. Financed by a patron, the “cloud of butterflies” cost 45,000 euros.
The creations of the Galerie des machines are intended to integrate the future Tree of Herons, if it sees the light of day. The public order for this ambitious project, as expected as it is criticized, must be voted on in the coming months by the elected officials of Nantes Métropole.