Since 12 January 2024, a beacon of light has been rising into the sky from Fort Saint-Jean. Artist duo Brognon Rollin have transformed the Fanal tower into a poetic lighthouse, through which they send a message from Pone to the people of Marseilles: "I think I'm saying something stupid, but that’s so true about me, anything is possible".

Diagnosed with Charcot's disease in 2015, Pone, the iconic beatmaker from the Fonky Family, has been fitted with a computerised eye calibration technique so he can surf the internet on his own and communicate with his friends and family, while the disease paralyses him and deprives him of his voice.

David Brognon and Stéphanie Rollin captured and archived the movement of his pupils while in conversation with him. This digital recording is connected to the Fanal tower. The old lighthouse has been brought back to life and faithfully reproduces the movement of Pone's pupils.

Until July, at nightfall or in the early hours of the morning, an extract of their visual conversation intermittently lights up the sky and the earth, a city-scale series of silent epiphanies.

Brognon Rollin is a Franco-Belgian artistic partnership who have been presenting numerous exhibitions in France and abroad since 2006. At the heart of their work are often ethical and political questions, as well as the encounters and relationships they forge with others. In 2020, Brognon Rollin held a major solo exhibition at the MAC VAL. Their work has recently been shown in Dublin and Los Angeles, and is represented in several major public collections (Centre Pompidou-Musée national d'art moderne, Collection, MUDAM, Luxembourg, etc.).

This installation was supported by the French Ministry of Culture's Mondes Nouveaux programme.

The Lighthouse is an inclusive project in which the Mucem aims to support both contemporary creation and patients with chronic illnesses and their families, while paying tribute to the pioneers of hip-hop culture. Several events will be organised around these themes until July 2024.

Curators:
— Hélia Paukner, Curator in charge of the Contemporary Art Department, Mucem
— Justine Bohbote, Curator in charge of the Sport and Health Department, Mucem

Brognon Rollin, Le Phare, 2022-2024 - In situ light installation

Work produced within the framework of the Mondes nouveaux artistic creation support programme

In collaboration with Guilhem (Pone) Gallart