John The Cow Square
Andréas Brandolini, Fabrice Domercq & Jasper Morrison.
Mediator - Anastassia Makridou-Bretonneau
Supporters - Fondation de France, Ministry of Culture and Communication (public command funds), Regional Council of Brittany, General Council of Côtes d'Armor, France Télécom, commune of Plougonver, CAUE 22
Plougonver, Côtes-d’Armor, France, Project abandoned by the new municipal team elected in March 2008
The context
In response to rural desertification, the municipality of Plougonver wanted to enhance its image to attract new inhabitants and preserve existing infrastructures and services. Among the actions undertaken to revitalize the municipality, a series of artistic commissions have been initiated. One of them concerns a neglected plot of land, located in the heart of the village, near the church. The patrons have expressed the desire to bring this place back to life by creating a "kindergarten" that will encourage meetings between the English and French communities that make up the population of Plougonver.
The commission
Jasper Morrison, Andréas Brandolini, Fabrice Domercq are considering the development of a square, designed according to the history of the place invested and the social context of the municipality. In memory of an emblematic figure of the village, Jean Coz, "Jean l'ancien" or "Jean la vache" (reference to his profession) and the past of the place - former playground for children and former vegetable garden - they have been inspired by the atmosphere of the site to create a place with multiple uses, both playground, garden to grow and square in the center of the village. Their creation reflects a need for simplicity in the service of a balance between the artistic project and their vision of everyday life. Instead of standardised equipment for children's playgrounds, they preferred more traditional elements of the public garden to soft shapes, made of a local material, granite, giving the impression of having always been part of Plougonver's environment.
Jaspar Morrison, Andréas Brandolini and Fabrice Domercq
Jasper Morrison, born in London in 1959, lives and works between London and Paris / Andréas Brandolini, born in Leipzig in 1951, lives and works between Petit-Réderching (France) and Sarrebruck (Germany) / Fabrice Domercq, born in 1965 in Paris, lives and works in Brussels.
At the same time designers, artists, architects, Jasper Morrison, Andréas Brandolini, Fabrice Domercq, create outside the limits of a defined discipline. They are looking for poetry that does not compromise a viable and practical result in line with daily life and the atmosphere of the place of intervention. Thus, their collaboration is a challenge to better understand the context of the commission and its environment.