Beauté extérieure was created in 2018 on the occasion of the annual exhibition of the Contemporary Art Fund.
It was first visible at the Botanical Garden of Meyrin and is currently in the park of the Beau-Séjour Hospital in Geneva.
Jan and Sylvain discovered the peaceful haven of a botanical garden trapped between the city and its bustling airport on their first visit to the garden. What could be created in such a setting, surrounded by nature but oppressed by concrete? The pair imagined a wooden sphere in which people could take refuge. But once inside, menacing skyscrapers loom over the visitors, aiming their roofs at them. The city, symbolized with logs, closes in on its inhabitants and threatens to devour them.
The artists required 35 days (and quite a number of sleepless nights) to cut and assemble over 600 pieces of wood connected with 300 metres of concrete reinforcing rods (rebar). The sphere weighs over three tonnes and moving it from Romainmôtier to Meyrin was an unforgettable, epic saga! The project was sponsored by the Meyrin Contemporary Art Foundation and can now be seen at Geneva University Hospital’s Beau-Séjour site.
