In 2024, a group of residents of the Doubs Horloger region wish to commission a work of art to raise collective and individual awareness of the specific richness of local biodiversity and the presence of the lynx in particular.
The lynx could be the animal that enables residents to “connect” with their environment and get to know it better. The aim of this project is to raise awareness of the iconic sites in the Doubs Horloger Regional National Park and thus strengthen knowledge and a sense of belonging. The lynx thus provides a gateway to the (non-human) living world around us, which we must protect. It is also an animal that unites a region, brings people together, and allows us to discuss the place of wildlife in our world.
Artist Patrick Corillon approaches raising awareness of the presence of the lynx in a poetic and metaphorical way. Beyond the issue of the lynx, he also addresses the problem of the ecosystem and that of territory: our territory and the territory of others. The lynx also represents a quest: seeing a lynx is a kind of blessing; those who have seen it, those who have not… Patrick Corillon proposes a two-part work, the first part being a presence in the territory to present unpublished stories about the lynx in connection with local partners. The second part will be devoted to a traveling work designed in response to the commission—a sculpture with stories entitled Le Gyrolynx.
This commission is part of the Lynx project, led by la Société des Nouveaux commanditaires with the support of France Nation Verte, and developed within the framework of the National Action Plan for the Eurasian Lynx (2022–2026).
