Scale models exert a strange power of fascination... For many people they evoke childhood dreams; others study the evolution in technology or simply admire the skill of the modellers, be they shipwrights, idle sailors or just “ship lovers”.

Three-masts, galiots, bricks, tartanes, cargo ships, ocean liners, tankers... All of these vessels left the port of Marseille to travel the Mediterranean and “beyond the Suez”, so dear to Louis Brauquier. They are represented here by scale models conserved by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Marseille Provence, in the secret corridors of the Palais de la Bourse. Heading into the 21^st century, these fragile models have retained all their power of fascination. They rekindle in us the child’s love of fabulous journeys... They attest to the evolution of naval technology... And they also reveal the incredible talent of the modellers: 18^th century shipwrights or simply “ship lovers”, who after hundreds of hours, often produced true works of art. Along with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Marseille Provence, the Mucem wanted to bring to light these ships that sail through our memories. Here a hundred models gather on the mirror of the waves, mingling together all scales and eras, staged by the artist Stéphan Muntaner.

Some of these ships sail in our collective unconscious, like “Normandie”, “La Marseillaise”, “Calypso”, “Richelieu” or “Surcouf”… One can only be enthralled by the beauty of the lines, the curve of the hulls, just astounded by the colours and flags of certain sailboats or steamers, but also attracted by the silhouettes of the aircraft that fly above them, from the original biplanes to the supersonic jets of today... Though very delicate objects in truth, they are representative of the history of maritime and air transportation in the Mediterranean Basin. This “Parade”, as we all know, will not degenerate into a naval battle!

On the first day of the exhibition’s opening to the public, Wednesday 29 June 2016, Mucem visitors will be invited to Fort Saint-Jean at 17:00 to discover a parade offered by a hundred young Marseillais “artists”!

Curators:

Patrick Boulanger, Curator of Heritage at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Marseille Provence
Isabelle Marquette, Curator of Heritage at the Mucem

Scenography: Stéphan Muntaner, Artist

Installation produced with the generous support of CCIMP