Foot, Sweater, Digestive System Sculptures

The sculptures of the beach

The Saint-Nazaire audio-guided tour presents you with three surprising sculptures placed on the sand, facing the great beach: a foot, a pullover and a digestive system.

Iconoclastic works facing the ocean

Grey in colour and able to reach seven metres high, these three figures camp on the sand of the outer harbour and half disappear when the tide is high. Inaugurated in 2021, they were created within the Estuaire collection of the Voyage a Nantes, a contemporary art route that brings together some sixty creations over about 120 kilometres of the banks of the Loire, between Nantes and Saint-Nazaire. Signed by the artists Daniel Dewar and Gregory Gicquel, who practise sculpture four-handed, they deliberately divert the classical aesthetic codes in favour of a contemporary, sometimes disconcerting vision. Matched to the shades of the beach and the port architecture, they arouse as much curiosity as questioning among visitors as among inhabitants.

What there is to see

The three sculptures, astonishing and monumental, dialogue with the beach, the tide and the port horizon. According to the hour, the water partly covers them, constantly modifying their silhouette. It is a playful and disconcerting stage of the route, which invites one to wonder about the meaning of contemporary art in public space.

Practical information

The sculptures are on the beach, near the Place du Commando, in Saint-Nazaire. In free access at all hours, they can be discovered on the level; their visibility depends on the level of the tide.

Who created these sculptures?

The artists Daniel Dewar and Gregory Gicquel, within the Estuaire collection of the Voyage a Nantes, in 2021.

What do they represent?

A foot, a pullover and a digestive system, three grey figures that play with the tide and divert the classical aesthetic codes.