Between sporting practice and meditative immersion, photographic apnea enhances the encounter between an animal species, Octopus vulgaris, and a diver-photographer, Franck Bessière.
Designed in the form of an animal documentary in images produced entirely in the waters of Toulon harbor – with strict respect for this animal and its environment – each shot “captures” the beauty and strangeness of this cephalopod for so long. depreciated. Contrary to the fiction which has continued to inflate the myth of a predatory and dangerous octopus, this photographic approach places the visitor in astonishing proximity with a harmless and fascinating underwater creature. “Living as an octopus” during a freediving means immersing yourself in the private life of an animal with astonishing cognitive abilities and participating in enhancing its pedigree. In order to enrich this sensitive experience with a scientific approach, each photograph is supplemented with texts from ethologist Anne-Sophie Darmaillacq, a specialist in cephalopod behavior.
Many artists will also exhibit their works at the Balaguier museum: the sculptors Renée and André Andréini, a couple of Seynois sculptors who created a work for this exhibition using recycled objects, Elie Huriez, a sculptor working with metal, based in the Alpes, then Jean-Philippe Razzanti, ceramist from Seynois, as well as Olive Tamari (1898-1980) present with a ceramic octopus kept in the collections of the Balaguier museum since 1974. The photographer, Franck Bessière and the composer François Joncour (electronic music made from sounds of the seabed). The “Living as an octopus” exhibition is held from June 8, 2024 to September 21, 2025. It will be inaugurated on Friday June 7 at 6 p.m.
Until September 21, 2025
Open Tuesday from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. except January 1, Easter Monday, Ascension Thursday, Pentecost Monday, May 1, May 8, July 14, August 15, November 1, November 11 and December 25.
Free for children under 5 years old. €3 / €2 5-18 years old, students, job seekers, groups of more than 8 people…
Free for children under 5 years old
La Seyne-sur-Mer
Balaguier Museum
924 corniche Bonaparte – 83500 La Seyne-sur-Mer
