Les petits rien n°1, n°2, n°3 – 2021 / 2022

Les petits rien n°1 – 2021 – AlUla, Saudia Arabia – © Malo Legrand

Les petits rien n°2 – 2022 – St Remy de provence

Les petits rien n°3 – 2022 – Marseille

Les petits rien is a large numbered ensemble comprising several series of very small sculptures. Around thirty works have been produced for each set since 2021. Les petits rien is a long-term project. A serial work-constellation, exponential with time; a long-term world tour will be brought together in a pocket handkerchief, the fruit of various peregrinations across the planet. The Alpilles, the Camargue, the Saudi desert… Les petits rien catalogues and archives both cultural and natural elements from the soil of each region visited. Hybrid, these sculptures, sometimes tiny, are made from walks in the environment where Sara Favriau is invited. All the materials that the singular localities offer; pebbles, plants, bones, feathers, debris, uses… Where the landscape first appears in the studio in the form of a collection, then reveals itself in an installation. A line of sculptures running along a 10-metre wall. A linear installation that assembles and blends the specific elements of each region: sculptures, some of them tiny, form a local lexicon, settling in a common, linear way; a grammar, whose structure comes from exploitation and the environment.

Les petits rien n°1 – Installation in the Mabiti palm grove – 2022 – The oasis reborn, Group show – AlUla, Saudi Arabia – 26 small sculptures made with gleaned local materials that come from two « entities »: a personal collection during exploration of a specific site in the oasis, and the tri-selection of archaeologists, more specifically Emmanuelle Devaux’s team, who excavated on the same site. This part of the oasis, known as Summer Farm, is made up of abandoned mud farms. They were investigated by ARCHAIOS archaeologists for Afalula and the RCU (Royal Commission for AlUla). Pebbles, plants, bones… are the product of personal peregrinations in this abandoned oasis environment. When it comes to household materials, these are the results of archaeologists’ research and excavations of farm ruins. These assembled pieces are a hybrid of walks and excavations. These sculptures are also the outcome of a conversation between scientific and artistic research – Variable dimensions, mixed materials.

Les petits rien n°2 – 2022 – Installation view – Atelier Bird, St Remy de Provence – Installation of 23 small sculptures – This installation focuses on the Alpilles and the Camargue. Provence cane, Aleppo pine, salt crystals, fragments of driftwood, limestone… – Variable dimensions, mixed materials.

Les petits rien n°3 – 2022 – Solo show, D’autres fondements, des partages, des hommes séparés avec des chiens et des chats. Quinze jours affranchis – SOMA, Marseille – Installation de 28 petites sculptures – This installation focuses on the Calanques et la Côte bleue from Marseille. Provence cane, Aleppo pine, juniper seeds, Kermes oak acorns, pine needles, cartridges, scrap car headlights… – Variable dimensions, mixed materials.