Garden of Commons

Trained as an architect, Nefeli Papadimouli grounds her research in traditional craftsmanship extending the movement of the hand into choreographic expression and the invention of collective gestures. Her work investigates the idea of shared space, considered in its relationship with bodies and to its use. The exhibition is inspired by the landscape designer Gilles Clément’s garden on the roof of the nearby submarine base and connects with his notion of the ‘garden in movement’, developed as a reflection on free and evolving spaces. Taking textile as her material, she invites the public to experiment with her adaptable modular works. Notably, in the exhibition at Le Grand Café a large curtain made up of pieces of clothing draws its inspiration from ‘desire lines’, the intuitive pathways that users trace in public space. By infinitely decomposing and recomposing the work, the public multiplies its narrative potential. In the ‘Garden of Commons’ a poetics of transformation permanent appears and a new landscape of relationships is drawn: a utopia perhaps.

· At the Grand Café from 13 June to 4 October 2026:
2 place des Quatre Z’Horloges, F – 44600 Saint-Nazaire
Open from 13 June to 4 October: Tuesday to Sunday, 2pm to 7pm.
Summer opening hours from 4 July to 30 August: Tuesday to Sunday, 11am to 7pm.

· At the Radôme, on the roof of the submarine base, from 23 September to 18 October 2026:
Boulevard de la Légion d’Honneur, F – 44600 Saint-Nazaire
Open from 23 September to 18 October: Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 2pm to 6pm.