The siren song

On the ground and in the atmosphere, as both an element and a resource, water constitutes us and overflows the world. Protean in form – rain, seas, droplets, dew, streams, clouds, fog, and tears – it is the essential source of all life. Diverted, extracted, and polluted, water has now become a vital issue in the ongoing ecological crisis. But although it has been conquered, the abyssal depths remain today more mysterious than the Moon, land of dreams, inhabited by fantastic monsters.

This exhibition follows the cycle of water, from sunken civilizations to ritual practices and the troubled waters of trade routes. The hybrid figure of the siren or mermaid, by turns malevolent and protective, half woman, half animal, acts as a guide to navigate between these worlds, from the depths to the surface. Her ambivalence resonates with that of water, a space of metamorphoses, between waters of rejuvenation and of doom.

The show invites us to explore the different states of water through the artists’ eyes, from its representation to its political implications, from the commodity transformed into a resource to the metaphorical quest for its source. Diving into this liquid world opens up a host of contradictions, when tales of water’s origins intermingle with those that conjure up future times in which it threatens us with flooding and drought, and sea levels rise while rivers run dry.

Practical information

Self-guided tours
Date: from October 4, 2024 to January 13, 2025
Opening hours: 10am to 7pm daily except Tuesday (closed)
Price: €10 / €8 / €2

Guided tours
October – Sundays 13 and 27 at 12pm
November – Sundays 10 and 24 at 12pm
December – Sundays 8 and 22 at 12pm
January – Sundays 5 at 12pm Price: 14€ / 11€ / 5€
Language: Italian

Family visits
Date: from October 12, 2024 Times:
– In Italian: every Saturday at 3:00 pm
– In French: every Saturday at 4:30 pm
Price: 7€.