Studio Orta

The Palais de Tau was the Episcopal residence associated with the coronation of 32 French kings, from the eleventh century to the reign of Charles X in 1825. Both the palace and the neighbouring cathedral are on the UNESCO World Heritage List. This splendid setting became the site of intervention for the 6th act in the series OPERA.tion Life Nexus, the artists longstanding project on the symbol of the heart. Lucy + Jorge Orta collaborated with Spanish composer Llorenç Barber, who improvised a concert using the cathedral bells, as the light images embellished the palace’s facade. The Palais de Tau is now an important museum conserving the city of Reim’s Medieval artefacts and tapestries.
The Light Works on the facade coincided with the opening of the exhibition “Twenty Centuries of Cathedrals”, showing public treasures and hidden masterpieces from the cathedrals all over France, enlightening the public to the role of the founding saints and donors who have contributed to the construction and enrichments of religious edifices as an important societal phenomena and unique architectural works of art. As Victor Hugo has so justly written, ‘a total work of art’ associating spiritual life, with artistic creation, recreational and administrative and activities.