For a few days in March we had the opportunity to do some recording in the old maintenance factories of the French national rail company (SNCF), which was active from 1840 until 2019. The still-operational faucets in the warm washroom became a starting point for a playful proposition to build a relaxing spa for nowhere - cascading water sounds fill the spectrum alongside radio, a tape recording of more water... Gentle tending to things to be done.

 

The entire center is in the midst of renovations/conversion into a mixed-use cultural center ("Grandes Locos") and so these factories are now in an in-between state: empty and no longer used for their original purpose, and not-yet converted into their new destiny. It's quiet inside, while slowly the work advances outside.

 

Recorded alongside a larger project in collaboration with the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts de Lyon, Université Lumière Lyon 2, École Nationale Supérieure des Arts et Techniques du Théatre, and artists Isabelle Moulin and Sonja Dicquemare.

 

Recorded 7 March 2024