L’air de rien – When stencils reveal the atmosphere

The L’air de rien project focuses on the sensitive relationship between inhabitants and the atmosphere in the Grenoble metropolitan area. The case is paradigmatic: Grenoble’s atmosphere is rightly approached primarily through the issues of air quality and health policy. The topography (between three mountain ranges), wind patterns and temperature inversion phenomena make Grenoble an ideal location for the concentration of atmospheric pollution.

While Grenoble Alpes Métropole’s expertise in the field of air quality enables it to guide public policy, it is still, by their own admission, difficult to share with the public. This project proposes a different approach to the atmosphere than that taken by air quality policies. It does not target one type of particle. Particles, pollen, sand, leaves, etc. are deposited on the stencil. The system is hospitable: it does not predefine participants or modes of participation.

Thirty stencils are set down in the metropolis along three transects initiated at three air quality measurement stations, then deployed towards Col du Fau, Belledonne and Voreppe. The drop-off points are chosen to reflect the ecology of the metropolitan area (urban/peri-urban, forests, waste disposal sites, etc.) and the groups (elementary school, colleges, associations, local residents, etc.) living in the vicinity. After a period of removal, the stencils are revealed with these collectives, who experience the appearance of an image. The discovery of this image and its links with the living environment provide an opportunity to tell sensitive and memorable stories. The researchers film these places, these practices, these encounters to bear witness to these relationships to the atmosphere in the metropolis.

This project is being carried out in association with the Grenoble Alpes metropolitan authority, the Grenoble Museum of Art, the Grenoble School of Art and Design, and the Médiarts cultural mediation association. Researchers Laure Brayer (AAU-Cresson) and Marc Higgin (AAU-Cresson) are also taking part.

“L’air de rien” is linked to an ongoing ANR project, entitled Sensibilia (2021-2023), of which it proposes a new development focusing on relations (health, heritage, artistic, inhabitant) to the atmosphere. The Sensibilia project approaches the Anthropocene from the angle of a crisis in environmental awareness.