Albatros

Mouawad + Laurier, with the CNRS · 2022 · NanoMusée, University of La Rochelle

Our role Concept, design, production.

Five years without touching land, 150,000 km a year, a 75-year life. The albatross is almost impossible to observe: it spends 80% of its life between water and air and only lands to breed on the island where it was born. We wanted to show it in all its majesty, life-size, in paper.

A technique blending origami and 3D modelling: open source, light, recyclable and transportable anywhere, with a few lights to bring the bird to life. The data from the CNRS scientists who track albatrosses with sensors is handwritten on the plexiglass and expanded on a web page linked by QR code; Cyril Laurier’s music accompanies the flight.

The work travels with the NanoMusée of the University of La Rochelle to schools, public spaces and remote places: a piece of science outreach that fits in a box.

To programme this artwork: mouawadlaurier.com