Dream geologies - Fort Sainte Agathe

Halfway between the village of Porquerolles and Villa Carmignac, Fort Sainte-Agathe, built in the 16th century under François I, offers a 360° view of the island. This year, artist Julian Charrière takes over the fort's interior.

Inspired by the story of Agathe de Catane, for whom the fort is named and who is invoked to protect against earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and fires, Julian Charrière invites us to take a meditative plunge into the bowels of the Earth.

At the center of the room, on a misty platform, rotates a luminous cylinder suspended above a block of onyx from which it has been extracted. Perforated by vertical slits, this rotating heart illuminates the surrounding space with its rays.

The artist invites us to lie down around the stone, rest our heads on the carved charcoal cushion and close our eyelids. In the silence, we hear the sounds of two volcanoes: Geldingadalir (Iceland) and Erta Ale (Ethiopia).

Like an inner lighthouse, this luminous, hypnotic device can be contemplated with closed eyes, inviting us to a meditation inspired by Brion Gysin's historic Dreamachine (1960).

In this moment of active repose, two geological giants converse with us in an unknown language, a dialogue with the mineral world made possible by a state between dream and reality.