Hand tree by JR Blooms in Carre Santa-Annie of Montpelier
After seven years of reinstatement, Carr reopened in Montpelier with a prominent new commission in Montpelier JRA participation, large scale tree Installation Title Adventis. Revealed inside the new-gothic east cave churchThe project converts the historical site into a living artwork made with 10,000 scanned hands from people around the world. Assembled as a tree, the hand vault moves towards the roof, which symbolizes inertia, migration and collective identity.
In vegetation words, ‘Adventis’ refers to plants that appear where they were not intentionally planted, which is often labeled as mourning. The exhibition recurs this word to describe those who arrive uninvited, but prove to be necessary in the context of nature, cities and communities. The huge tree of suspended hands inside Carr catch this idea, each hand represents an individual story and forms a single, interconnected structure that grows with each new visitor. The additional hands can be scanned on the site and added to the artwork, allowing the installation to be developed in the exhibition run, which continues until December 7, 2025.
Adventis Exhibition Scene, Carre Santte-Annie, Montpelier, 2025 | Images © JR, until otherwise said
Adventis connects local soil to global stories
With adventis, French artist JR Montpelier attracts a low-known chapter in history, the arrival of foreign seeds through medieval textile trade. The wool brought from Spain, North Africa, Constantinopal, and Izamir was washed into the river, which was inadvertently taken root with its banks. These plants, although not original, optimized and slowly change the scenario, contribute to the biodiversity of the region. Establishment uses this ecological phenomenon as a metaphor for cultural exchange and migration, explaining how external influences have helped shape the identity of Montpelier.
In addition to the central installation, adventies have five new works in wood and paper that expand on exhibition subjects. These sculpture pieces, when viewed for the first time, expand the language of JR’s human connection into more intimate physical manifestations.
A living artwork made with 10,000 scanned hands from people around the world
He moves towards the roof by hand
Symbol of inertia, migration and collective identity
