The transparency of Le Forum’s façade was a decisive element in the conception of the “Cosmic Garden” by Sandra Cinto, an installation at once monumental in scale and minimalist in character. Cinto, who was born in 1968 in Brazil, has long been influenced by Japanese art. Here, she unfurls a vast range of blue tints across the walls and the floor of Le Forum, from morning to nightfall. A landscape featuring natural elements emerges against this blue background, which also serves as a symbol of the universe. Here and there, highly detailed drawings appear like enlargements within the sweeping panorama. The sounds of nature accompany visitors as they discover this “cosmic garden”, which brilliantly scales up our own world to immense proportions.

Nature is also at the heart of the work of Charlotte Dumas, the animal kingdom in particular. Dumas, who was born in the Netherlands in 1977, is the second artist to be invited to Le Forum in 2020. Her exhibition explores the equestrian world through an unexpected and fascinating phenomenon, namely the “bezoar”, a foreign body that forms in the stomach of certain animals and which also lends this exhibition its title. Long considered talismanic, bezoars have today become collectors’ items. Bringing together photographs, moving images, haniwa (ritual Japanese terracotta figurines) and rocking horses, “Bezoar” constitutes a highly original dialogue on the power of nature. With exhibition design by Japanese architects Keigo Kobayashi and Haruka Uemura, this project also features a textile installation by designer Yuko Kitta, with whom Charlotte Dumas has collaborated for a number of years. Together, these elements offer several perspectives on the ephemeral nature of life in a changing world.