As Close as Possible to the Sun
As Close as Possible to the Sun, 2019
Colour video, silent,1' loop
This video offers a hypnotic view of the sun on a misty day above the Pic du Midi de Bigorre, an iconic site in the Pyrenees. The astronomical observatory located at the summit is a landmark for anyone viewing the mountains from the valley. Renamed Pic de Miedia de Bigorra (in Gascon Occitan dialect) in the late19th century, the peak was formerly called Arize, meaning “water,” like its eponymous massif. The current name reflects the Alpine custom of naming southern mountains “du Midi.” A temporal term, midi means the centre, the middle, the solar zenith. Specializing in coronography, the Pic du Midi observatory is also known for the star-mapping it performed for the Apollo11 moon landing in 1969.