terrain vague

a sculptural landscape, or terrain vague, made of soil, an invitation to be a steward of the land (alongside clay, little ones, microscopic insects, artists, ancestors …) and to be part of composing a space of transmutation, where spirit is summoned through sonic, embodied, and imagined yearnings.

Everyone is encouraged you to enter and explore how it feels to bring your body into direct contact with the soil. n:u (melissandre varin) believes that playgrounds are for adults (too); that we all need to play more, that playing is a deeply spiritual act.

This artwork is a direct composition about eco-grief, a failed attempt for the atmosphere-maker to reach the derelicted 'nature' they grew up nearby to in an underserved suburbian city to Paris. Surrounded by tower blocks, a piece of land where 'dirt' was a playground. In the making of this work the artist realised that this land had now been covered by tower blocks.

new commissioned work part of dirty nails.

dirty nails was co-commissioned by Eastside Projects and FABRIC, and was born out of a collective residency (co-designed by n:u and Ban Workshop) at Ban Workshop in Dakar, Senegal, as part of the Dak'art Biennial. It has been supported by Arts Council England and Fluxus Art Projects. 

The exhibition debuted as n:u’s first major solo showcase, running from June 7 to July 27, 2024, at Eastside Projects in Birmingham. The sticky, unfolding experiment was designed as an invitation for visitors to hum, play, and throw soil on the gallery's white walls, creating alternative spaces for healing, re-assertment of agency, and transmutation of energies.