Yalil Sculptures,
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Switzerland
Yalil SculpturesVisited: December 2006 More pictures of Yalil Sculptures:
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The day was not as sunny as I had hoped, and I was exploring the old city of Geneva in search of landmarks and good light. Another photographer started talking to me, and she advised me to go to the Pont de la Machine, where I would find "bonhommes". According to her, the best time to go would be around sunset. Right then, I could not imagine what she meant. When I reached the bridge a few hours later, I suddenly saw a delicate figure seemingly floating through the air. I stopped, and as I spotted other figures as well, I realized that this is what she had been referring to. I had discovered the bonhommes.
I had actually stumbled upon the open-air exposition of Cédric le Borgne, part of the Trees and Lights festival in Geneva. The figures I saw floating in the air, were iron sculptures hanging in the air and exposed from lights from a distance. The figures are called travellers, and have names such as the Wiseman, the Guardian, and the Explorer. The exposition is called Yalil, an arabic word that loosely translates to the poetry of the night. As the night fell over Geneva and the travellers became always more visible, I realized the word was well-chosen.
At first, the delicate figures were barely visible because of the feeble light that was still absorbed by the dying daylight, but as darkness fell over the city, the travellers were always clearer. The interest on the passing people was immediate, as they spotted the sculptures too, stopped walking to enjoy the iron creatures effortlessly floating through the cold air of the Swiss city. That is what open-air art is about: having a direct impact on people, making them pause and admire, integration with the direct surroudings. Cédric le Borgne certainly managed to make his travellers stand out in the Geneva sky.
