The visual and sound installation Nous la mer (We the Sea) by Aurélie Darbouret and Jeff Silva, resident at Iméra during the 2018-2019 academic year, will open at the Vieille Charité on Saturday May 23rd, as part of European Museum Night 2026.
Underwater presence in the Bay of Marseille
Nous la mer is a sound and visual installation that invites you to dive beneath the surface of the Mediterranean, into the underwater space of the Bay of Marseille, between the Côte Bleue and La Ciotat. In this unveiled world, usually invisible and inaudible to most, marine beings and human presences become entangled. Engines rumble on the surface, communication cables run along the seabed, fishing nets obstruct vast expanses of water, while strange divers struggle to repair the damage. The installation shows how marine creatures deal with these intrusions: how they react, adapt or suffer. The images reveal contrasting environments, from industrial port areas to the more protected sectors of the Calanques National Park.
Nous la mer offers an unprecedented immersion into this marine world, from the angle of our cohabitation with a diversity of other creatures. Without always being aware of it, how do we transform their world? The experience also prompts us to ask ourselves: who owns the sea and how can we look after it?
A work born of four years in the field
The sound composition is based on recordings made in the bay of Marseille using hydrophones. For fifteen minutes or so, Nous la mer takes us from the surface to the obscure depths, inviting us to abandon our landmarks.
The installation is extended by a deciphering space that allows visitors to locate the filming locations, identify the activities observed and understand how contemporary ocean issues combine. It also reveals the investigative methods and research approach that underpin this project.
Nous la mer is being presented as part of the “Ce que la mer garde” exhibition at the Centre de la Vieille Charité in Marseille from May 23rd to August 30th, 2026.
An installation by Aurélie Darbouret and Jeff Silva, artists and anthropologists, with the collaboration of Pierre Léo Paul (visuals), Pascal Catheland (editing), Julie Rousse (multiphonic sound composition) and curator Juliette Bessette.
Production: Boris Pétric at La Fabrique des écritures ethnographiques, Raphaèle Dumas at Mujō, and the Mission Centre de la Vieille Charité – Musées de Marseille.
