Central idea

The work of art The Secret of the World is based on the construction of a modular and transportable space/brain incor-porating a monumental sculpture and sensory surroundings, produced based

on the biscuit porcelain bust for the Manufacture de Sèvres ‘Celui qui voit les yeux fermés’, a bust that was enlarged.

The frontal and immersive work of art The Secret of the World could be described as a sensory, mental and physical journey.

Conceived as a huge brain, The Secret of the World is a testing ground and prom-ises an immersion of the senses within the work of art. The spectator relinquishes the outside world, to observe and touch the world within.

Spectators are imbued, enveloped, immersed and solicited, experiencing physical, sound and scent immersion.

The Secret of the World is experienced like a journey consisting of cavities, sur-faces, sound, scents and the presence

of others.

The book by Johannes Kepler, The Secret of the World, 1596, addressing the vision and harmony of the world, provides the title of the artwork.

Origin

A white 2.9 m tall figure, appearing to be half-buried, emerges from the floor of the museum.

The face stems from a repertoire of forms from the Manufacture de Sèvres. Since 2011, Nathalie Talec has revived a bust of Adrienne, produced by her father Charles Houssin around 1880. The artist felt visual affinities with this young girl. The initial mould enabled pieces to be prepared with which the artist experimented in terms of changing the model. Now the artist has her own mould.

The figure is moulded to commission and

‘At the heart of the work, you feel both within and beyond yourself.’

Nathalie Talec, extract from artist dossier.