Sailing to create, art in motion
Science has always been a source of inspiration for artists. It is in this spirit that the Tara Ocean Foundation works closely with creators to cultivate a different perspective on its scientific expeditions. During their artistic residencies on board the schooner, the artists use their unique perspectives and creativity to capture and reinterpret the richness of the Ocean, scientific research and daily life on-board. Their aim: share the beauty and importance of the ocean.
‘The Ocean, a whole story’ …
Knowledge has always been shared through stories. From the discovery of new territories and the first commercial maritime routes in the 16th century, to the great scientific expeditions such as that of Darwin, stories of navigation and human adventures have served to spread knowledge.
Our personal relationship with the ocean reflects the great diversity of cultures on the planet. These varied perceptions – anxiety, serenity, exhilaration – are rooted in the intimate relationships that each of us forms with this ultimately unknown marine environment.
The Tara Ocean Foundation is not only a source of scientific knowledge through its expeditions, it is also a place for artistic residencies. Initiated thanks to the commitment of agnès b. and Etienne Bourgois, more than 50 artist residencies have taken place on board the schooner.
Since 2004, men and women have been setting sail to write about the richness of the ocean through their own eyes and sensibilities, but also to share the research that is carried out during the expeditions. Pierre Huyghe, Xavier Veilhan and Sebastião Salgado were among the first to embark on this adventure.
Creativity without borders
Artistic residencies aboard the schooner are a voyage of exploration for the artists. Each of them has to adapt to this constantly changing environment in order to build, reflect and complete their creative processes. Painters, illustrators, photographers, sculptors, writers, sound artists, video artists – all these artistic fields are involved in making the invisible visible and changing the way we perceive the ocean.
To present it to the public, this abundance of creativity could not be compartmentalised by discipline. The first retrospective of the artistic residencies on board the schooner is therefore structured around 5 main chapters – Life, Landscapes, Pollution, Sensitivity and Travel Diaries. La grande expédition is an exceptional exhibition created and produced in partnership with the 104 in Paris, giving us the opportunity to bring together the different territories and visions of each artist.
When we combine the creations of Christian Sardet with his Plankton ballet, Manon Lanjouère with Particules, or the works of Aurore de la Morinerie, we are talking about LIFE.
LANDSCAPES by Nicolas Floc’h, Yann Bagot and Emmanuel Régent open a window on the ocean, each with a different horizon, using photography, fine felt-tip drawing or Indian ink.
Making POLLUTIONS visible through the work of Samuel Bollendorf, Laure Winants and Robertina Šebjanic gives us the opportunity to highlight the issues and challenges of tomorrow.
Through SENSITIVITY, artist Elsa Guillaume‘s work Slices moves us between pleasure and repulsion, and Noémie Sauve reminds us of the fragility of coral, all to the background music of Antoine Bertin‘s gentle voices of plankton.
Finally, the TRAVEL DIARIES, through video accounts, illustrations, paintings and photos, help us to discover how these residencies in motion transform the artistic experience, reminding us, too, that all these works were created on the same vast expanse of water: the Ocean.
Art sharing, at the heart of our social bond with the Ocean
We had to wait to be welcomed at the 104 in Paris for this exceptional exhibition and to produce a book L’art et la science pour révéler l’Océan (Art and science to reveal the ocean) with The eyes publishing house to share with all audiences the works of the artists who came on board these unique residencies.
The aim is to reconnect with the ocean, highlight its little-known biodiversity, show its essential role in the climate machine and highlight the pollution its suffers from, all through the eyes of artists.
It’s also a unique opportunity to raise broader questions in the public mind:
- What is man’s relationship with living things?
- Does man leave his mark on the landscape?
- What are the invisible threats to living things?
- Is it possible to perceive the ocean through the senses?
So many themes that it is essential today to share with all and open a dialogue on the future of the Ocean and, more broadly, of all living things.
It’s with this in mind that the works resulting from Tara’s residencies will be presented in a variety of places to share this ocean of artistic vision and reflection with as many people as possible.
This spring, the Villa Arson in Nice will be providing a new stage for the artists, with an exhibition entitled BECOMING OCEAN, co-produced by the Villa Arson, TBA21 Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary and the Tara Ocean Foundation, echoing the 3rd United Nations Conference on the Ocean to be held in the same city in June.
Upcoming residencies
From 2026 onwards, new areas of artistic exploration will be opening up. Painters, illustrators, photographers, sculptors, writers, sound artists and video artists will, as at the start of each mission, be asked to propose a project based on the expedition’s research pillar.
March 2026 will mark the start of the extension of the Tara Pacific mission around the coral with the schooner. While TARA POLAR STATION, the foundation’s new vessel, will be at the gateway to the Arctic Ocean to embark on an immobile voyage to the heart of the climate machine, during which artists will once again have the opportunity to share their experiences and creations while opening a window on this sanctuary.
The artistic residencies on Tara Foundation’s ships allow each discipline to express itself through the unique characteristics of the voyage, scientific exploration and life on board.
It’s a traveling space for creation and expression, offering a different perspective on the world and on artistic creation. The artists, whether or not they are involved in the research on board, all explore and interpret this still little-known universe in their own unique way. Two worlds thus coexist, each observing reality and converging to the same desire: a collective awareness of the vital role of the Ocean.
Artists who embarked on residencies :
Check out their profiles to get to know them better
François Aurat, Yann Bagot, François Bernard, Antoine Bertin, Samuel Bollendorff, Christian Cailleaux, Lorraine Féline, Benjamin Flao, Nicolas Floc’h, Cécile Fouillade – Siqou, Ellie Ga, Giulia Grossmann, Elsa Guillaume, Mara G. Haseltine, Rémi Hamoir, Pierre Huyghe, Katia Kameli, Irene Kopelman, Manon Lanjouère, Francis Latreille, Yoann Lelong, Ariane Michel, Leslie Moquin, Aurore de la Morinerie, Wilfried N’Sondé, Malik Nejmi, Claire Nicolet, Maki Ohkojima, François Olislæger, Arianna Pace ,Renata Padovan, Lola Reboud, Emmanuel Régent, Christian Revest, Sebastião Salgado, Christian Sardet et les Macronautes, Noémie Sauve, Robertina Šebjanic, Carly Steinbrunn, Lara Tabet, Laure Winants, Xavier Veilhan