The gods of the Grande Chaufferie (Former thermal power plant)

This year, the Grande Chaufferie (fomer thermal power plant), morphed into an egyptian royal tomb. Therein lies a labyrinth where a sarcophagus hides, as well as a steel-made sculpture collection of egyptian gods named “Egypt 2.0”, forged by artist Romain Bresson. Sculptures were designed from old mechanical pieces and show a mix between humans and machines the same way ancient egyptian murals represented mix between humans and animals.

Egypte 2.0

Egyptians of old used to worship thousands of deities, all possessed a precise cult :

Osiris : Son of Geb the earth and Nut the sky, as well as brother and spouse of Isis, Osiris was sent to Egypt to be its first king. He’s first the god of civilisation and agriculture, the one who gave humankind the knowledge on how to sow the earth. After his murder by his brother Set, he becomes the first mummy and god of the dead, the supreme judge of the Weighing of the Soul.

Isis : Also daughter of Geb and Nut, Isis is a magician and healing goddess, the most powerful deity in the egyptian pantheon. Since she embalmed Osiris’ corpse, she also stands as protector of the dead. During her reign by Osiris’ side, she taught humankind how to brew beer and weave.

Horus : Son of Isis and Osiris, he’s represented with a falcon’s head. While he is the god of the sun and the moon, he’s also the god of order, protector of children and young men. After Set’s defeat, he becomes king of Egypt which explains why pharaohs were considered his descendants.

Thot : The scribe god with an ibis head is the god of unlimited knowledge, intelligence, arts and writing. Inventor of languages, hieroglyphs and the calendar, he’s the gods’ clerk and writes the result of the Weighing of the soul.

Anubis : Patron of embalmers and guide of souls to the afterworld, Anubis is represented with a jackal’s head. During the Weighing of the soul, he’s the one that brings the newly departed to the court and places the heart on the balance.

Interview of the artist, Romain Bresson

The Parc de Wesserling had the pleasure of interviewing the artist behind the sculptures of “Egypte 2.0” exhibtion : Romain Bresson.

When did you start your career?
I worked for 15 years in a factory until I could no longer find myself in this, I then decided to drop everything to dedicate myself to creation. I bought a soldering station and formed myself 5 years ago.

What is your process while creating? Do you draw first or do you work the iron the moment you have an idea? I don’t have rules for my creativity, I’ll go find metal pieces, the ones that speak to me with their shape or history. Most of the time, I can picture the sculpture done. While creating, if I take turns or mess something up, I’ll highlight its flaws and allow myself to come to a sometimes unexpected result, even for me.

What were the materials used for this exhibtion?
For my egyptian gods and for most of my sculptures, I work with iron. I get recovered steel from scrap dealers and lots of iron rods that I purchase from my supplier. There’s also copper that I melt using my soldering station or my smelter, or brass. I also used plastic for Thot.

Most of your sculptures mix humans to beastiality and divinity, what pushed you to make an exhibition about egyptian gods?
Egyptian gods and culture have always impressed me by their work techniques as well as their elegance. That’s why I decided to match these gods to today’s universe and why the collection is named “Egypte 2.0”; it shows the gods’ evolution next to a new humanity, one that worships more production than nature. As such, the gods have evolved into a more mechanical image.

Thot’s sculpture has a face on his back, what was your intention behind this choice?
If you look closely at Thot’s sculpture, he’s represented with planets and lunar phases. The face is in the middle of a wheel that represents the moon, creating a link between the universe, human and gods.