Gabrielle Manglou
Artiste
Gabrielle Manglou invited students to engage in a sensory exploration of their environment. The project Les Merveilles considers otherness as the quality of what is different, whether human or non-human (plant, animal, mineral, or cosmic world), "as a communion, a reflective surface leading us to see ecology not merely as a science or a political formula, but as an internal prose of the world, a continuous dialogue, an inseparability of all things and beings, a necessary conviviality with and through the living."
During her residency, Gabrielle Manglou introduced students to various action protocols: observing and drawing nature, capturing rainbows with mirrors, blending colors, listening to bells, Tibetan bowls, and jaw harps, then creating soundscapes with musician Fabrice Laureau, writing poems, and imagining talismans or offerings as tokens of gratitude. The sessions followed a structured approach, starting from the cosmos and progressively moving toward the earth and below. These workshops allowed students to explore the squares of Villejean and the Beauregard park, collect scientific data, learn artisanal techniques, select archival documents and images, record sounds, and experiment with reflective surfaces.
To showcase the experiences shared with students and during extracurricular workshops, Gabrielle Manglou presents Le temps s’ouvre (An digor amzer) on Thursday, May 16, at Jean Moulin Elementary School and Les enfants-paysages from May 21 to May 28 at the Villejean Community Center.
"I favor modest gestures and simple material associations (considering that I work with young children at the very beginning of their learning journey). These gestures are carefully guided to preserve each child's uniqueness while harmonizing within a shared experience. The process also respects a sense of time that nurtures curiosity and ‘communion’ with nature, one that captivates us as much in its smallest details as in its vastness. What the children and I create seeks to honor their still-magical fragility, that poetry of searching for expression."
Beyond this apparent fragility, the students' creations, combined with those of Gabrielle Manglou, echo the concept of "powerful objects" as described by artist and author Marie Preston: "The agency (active intentionality) of objects created in the context of co-creation or pedagogical experiences, as with powerful objects, arises from the social relationships that give them meaning." These objects become magical or symbolic because they emerge from a shared imagination.
Under the guidance of Gabrielle Manglou and through collective creation, each student was able to express their perception of the world, share it, and connect it with others.
** Marie Preston, inventing school, thinking about co-creation, Tombolo Presses and CAC Brétigny, 2021.