Following on from her Terracotta Daughters (2011-2031), Mater Earth (2020-2023) and Statues Also Breathe (2022) projects, which explore the place of women in society through the symbolism of earth, Prune Nourry presents her Venus project. This project takes up the Les Vénus dionysiennes commission for the Grand Paris Express in the Saint-Denis – Pleyel station, imagined in tandem with architect Kengo Kuma, and to be installed in 2026.

For this monumental, permanent work, the artist drew inspiration from the archaeological history and cultural diversity of Saint-Denis (where over 130 nationalities live side by side). Following her research and encounters, notably with Catherine Schwab, curator at the Musée d’Archéologie Nationale de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, the artist created eight interpretations of Paleolithic Venus, presented in the exhibition. These first eight of the series will be combined with fourteen different earth colors to create 108 unique sculptures, positioned in the station atrium like a vertical museum. At the heart of each sculpture will be earth collected through La Terre qui m’est Chair, a collective project devised with women’s associations in Saint-Denis.

To anchor her work in the local area, Prune Nourry is also working on a more intimate project inspired by one of these associations, the Maison des femmes de Saint-Denis. She met its founder, Ghada Hatem, an obstetrician-gynecologist, who invited her to their workshops, where the artist invited eight women to model themselves on Gravettian sculptures. On this occasion, they share fragments of their stories, which feed into the artist’s creative work.

To situate the Venus theme within the history of sculpture, the artist is also exhibiting an installation made up of molds from the collections of the Atelier de moulage du Grand Palais-Rmn, located in Saint-Denis. Like a chronological frieze on the representation of women through the ages, ranging from 30,000 BC to the XIXᵉ century, these molds establish a link between the women of prehistory and those of today.

The exhibition booklet will soon be available to download.

Drop off some of your earthly flesh at the museum until September 21, 2025: laterrequimestchair.com