A sperm whale several meters long has been lying on the quays since 5 a.m. Thursday morning, and it does not go unnoticed. Passers-by stop dumbfounded and try to get information from the team in clothes stamped “International Whale Association” which carries out the first analyses. The sperm whale would have come to die in the estuary and would have been taken out of the water and then deposited on the quays. A tragic and credible accident, which many Bordeaux residents believe. Behind this event, there is a Belgian artistic company Captain Boomer which has produced a very realistic reproduction of a sperm whale corpse, based on resin and polystyrene. It is not at its first attempt and has already organized such events, notably in Paris.
The actors who mimic the gestures of the professionals in a very convincing way also answer the many questions of passers-by, sometimes very shocked by this spectacle. “How come they get lost like that in the estuary?” asks, for example, a man passing by on a bicycle. The actor replies that the animal was migrating between Antarctica and Ecuador and that the causes of the stranding can be multiple. He mentions, for example, collisions with boats.
“A great emotion”
“Some believe in it for an hour, two hours, all day, or not at all, but beyond known scientific discourse, people who pass here experience great emotion and that is very powerful”, comments Sylvie Violan, artistic director of the FAB (international festival of the arts of Bordeaux Métropole), accomplice of the performance. The strandings of cetaceans are very real, this summer alone two took place in the Seine, three in Brittany and two on the coasts of New Aquitaine.
“It’s documentary fiction, says Sylvie Violan. What they say is true even if they are actors. Their speech is extremely documented. The FAB has integrated this performance of the company into its program around the river which allows to “bring the ocean into the city”, points out Sylvie Violan. The company has already organized fake strandings in other European cities, including Paris. His ambition to explore the limits between reality and fiction seems very successful, given the amazement of the people of Bordeaux.
The fake sperm whale remains on the quays of Bordeaux until Sunday. And, the event will be closed in partnership with Cap Sciences with the conference of a cetacean specialist.