Beyond their legitimacy and their actions, those in power have always relied on symbols to assert themselves. Clothing, weapons, portraits, buildings, emblems, coats of arms... are all symbols used by authorities to affirm their position and inspire allegiance. Which current symbols of power conceal older ones? Which others, on the contrary, have remained unchanged through time?

Powers revisits, from a contemporary perspective, the images that illustrate power throughout history. It focuses on pivotal moments when codes and symbols evolve, emerge, disappear, or reappear. In doing so, it echoes the history of Fontevraud. Since its origins, art and culture have been an essential part of life at Fontevraud. Does not the effigy of Eleanor of Aquitaine depict her holding an open book in her hand? The Royal Abbey is a unique cultural site as a heritage institution. Monastic architecture, the life of the nuns, then that of prisoners, and today a contemporary art center. The Royal Abbey is itself a symbol of power that has evolved over time, in step with France and Europe history.

Symbols Over Time — This work focuses on the study of symbols of power across the history of France. It is striking to see how totemic images evolve, disappear, or replace one another over time. How did the oak leaf symbolizing Europe become a crown of stars? How did the frog, once the emblem of France, become the fleur-de-lis? What do a crown and the sun have in common? Why did the lion dethrone the bear in Europe? All these transformations tell our own story.

Symbols of Power — To symbolize power is to use the power of images. Whether they evoke strength, like a bear or a lion, represent a place like the oakleaf of Europe’s forests, refer to God like gold, or suggest wealth like the rare blue of lapis lazuli or ermine fur, images embody different qualities. The first part of the exhibition consists of a series of eight black lacquered panels, each 220 x 180 cm, and silkscreened in two colors: Reflex Blue and Gold. Reflex Blue is the blue of the European flag, but also the lapis lazuli blue used to paint the Virgin Mary’s celestial mantle. Gold is omnipresent in representations of the Sacred—both as color, material, and light. The motif of each panel is the encounter between two elements embodying the same form of power at different moments.

Symbols of Identity — During the Middle Ages, people used coats of arms to represent their families. The thirty-six Abbesses who governed the abbey were all of royal or noble descent, and their coats of arms are displayed on the abbey’s walls. Each design follows the strict principles of heraldry. This visual language is not so far removed from that of our modern logos. Inside the chapter house, six screens display videos — each lasting six seconds, played in sequence. The coats of arms of the thirty-six Abbesses are animated in a style reminiscent of contemporary TV channel graphics, similar to MTV. Transposing the visual codes of heraldry into a contemporary aesthetic creates a temporal bridge between today’s visitors and the abbey’s original inhabitants.

Exhibition curated by Emmanuel Morin, motion design by Jurriaan Hos and silkscreens by Sacré Bonus.