In French, Aimer (to love) and Marie form a beautiful anagram. The name Marie is composed of the same letters as the word Aimer. Love, in all its degrees of intensity, is what binds us to one another. From kindness to passion, it creates communities, friendships, couples, and families.

Aimer Marie is an installation created at La Chapelle des Calvairiennes in Mayenne, France. This chapel, built in 1655 and transformed into a contemporary art center in 2000, was once used by the Catholic nuns Les Filles du Calvaire, from a neighboring convent. Only women came here to pray and sing. It is this femininity that inspired the title of the exhibition.

I was raised Catholic. As a child growing up in a small village, the church was the closest thing I had to a museum, with its paintings, statues, music, and elaborate architecture. All these works of art served the same purpose: to teach us to love one another. Love your neighbor as yourself. Love is therefore the starting point of the installation — but how can one illustrate a feeling that unites us all?

A street in the nave — The idea was to open the chapel to the outside world. Bringing an outdoor street scene inside the nave supports the concept of Love is God. Places of worship are often enclosed, protected spaces meant for meditation. There is something meaningful in removing the protective shell of the building to let in the movement and noise of the present. This openness invites visitors to move freely through the installation. The drawings are suspended from the ceiling, leaving the ground clear for people to walk. This display also places the figures in the drawings at the same visual height as the marble statues in the choir, creating a sense of continuity between them.

A crowd in white — Thirteen large printed drawings, each 200 × 150 cm, hang in the center of the nave. Together they form a kind of mille-feuille. The drawings are rendered in monochromatic white on a white background. This chromatic approach echoes the statues of the Descent from the Cross located above the choir. The drawings depict everyday scenes: women, men, and children walking, laughing, kissing, smoking, observing... simple fragments of ordinary life. The backs of the sheets are printed in red.

A color in the light — During the day, sunlight enters the chapel through its clear glass windows. The light shifts as the sun moves across the sky. When the light strikes the red backs of the suspended sheets, the white drawings become tinted red. The intensity of the color is never the same; it changes according to the hour and the brightness. This color carried by the light unites all the figures, encompassing them within the same chromatic breath. Red light is traditionally present in churches through the sanctuary lamp, signaling the presence of God. Using sunlight instead opens the chapel to the world, consecrating the love that binds us — not only in sacred places, but everywhere.

Exhibition curated by Mathias Courtet and produced by Le Kiosque.