01/04/2024 to 21/06/2024
MB D79 Project comes to life through a series of events and exhibitions in coastal towns along the Baltic Sea, based around the works of Jean Denant. This is an opportunity to provide information on the progress made in preserving the Baltic Sea and to reaffirm the solutions that need to be considered. These events create invaluable opportunities for meetings, exchanges and commitments to the cause of the Baltic Sea. This is a scouting tour for the future installation of monumental works facing the sea. These shimmering mirrors become luminous beacons of awareness, eloquently tracing the contours of the Baltic Sea in a visual and symbolic echo of solidarity between nations.
A real field trip all around the Baltic: 80 days, 10 countries, 15800 kms, 36 hours by ferry put together, lots of great contacts and around twenty presentations of Jean Denant's work.
Very official presentations, such as at the French Embassy in Riga, Latvia, or invited by the CBSS to the 'Culture of Resilience' Forum in Jakobstad, Finland, spontaneous ones, such as in Lübeck, Germany and Gdynia, Poland, and downright adventurous and magical ones, such as in a forest in Vaasa, Finland.
We did a lot of scouting for places that would be perfect for mirror card works facing the sea, such as the blockhouse at Skagen where the North Sea meets the Baltic in Denmark, the beach at Nida in Lithuania, the town of Vaasa and the island of Suomenlinna in Finland, and many others, such as the beautiful Jurmala in Latvia.
Following the scouting, there were often encounters that gave rise to great desires during the magical presentations of the work carte miroir de la Baltique, irresistible in its beauty and the meaning it gives to identity, territory and the common good to be protected. It has won over people and won them over, and now it's time to give concrete expression to the progress made with our partners (towns, regions, institutions, etc.) in terms of agreements on what to do, where to do it, when to do it and what commitments to make.
During the trip, on behalf of MBD79, I also entrusted seven original small-format mirror cards to people who have a strong position representative of a place, a town, a region or an institution. May they take care of them with the great empathy for the project that I felt in them and, like seeds to be nurtured, help new ones to blossom in Gotland, Stockholm, Jakobstad, Helsinki, Riga, Gdansk and Skagen. I salute them as ambassadors of the project. They will recognise themselves.
I have also approached major intergovernmental bodies such as HELCOM, the International Commission that manages the Helsinki Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area. "You might mention that Helcom is very supportive of this initiative 😉
It all takes and will take time, but if all goes well and for now, two large-format works by Jean should be installed facing the Baltic by next summer. Yess!
Thanks to Christina and thanks to Jean Denant
A thousand thanks to all the people I've met on this wonderful tour. I can tell them that I found their countries bordering the Baltic truly magnificent in terms of people, nature and history. This reinforces my desire to do something to alert people to the insidious but very real pollution that is taking place.
Thank you to those in France who have bought works of art Mirror of the Baltic by Jean Denant (signed and numbered), which will enable us to finance part of the work involved in running the project. There are still 4 original cards available for sale.
Thank you to our donors. It is still possible to make a donation .
Thank you to those who are interested in the project and are talking about it around them. I'm keen to hear from people who live on the Baltic coast and to receive any information that might be useful for the project.
Thank you for following us.
Martin Bez
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