Three meters high, 7.50 wide: impossible to miss “Le Banquet du Sans Visage” when you enter the Pierre-Veilletet library, in Caudéran. This tapestry created by the Cité Internationale de la Tapisserie d’Aubusson based on “Spirited Away” is the third that Bordeaux has hosted, after a creation inspired by “Princess Mononoké” at the Grand-Théâtre in 2023 and another imagined from from the “Howling Castle” to the Grand-Parc village hall the same year.
Three works representing scenes from cartoons by Hayao Miyazaki, legend of contemporary animated cinema, and three large formats (the two previous tapestries measure 5 by 5 meters). This is also one of the reasons which made the Pierre-Veilletet library chosen for this new exhibition. “Originally, it was the Mériadeck library that was to present ”The Banquet of the Faceless,” but there was not a large enough space for it,” explains the director, Jean-Marc Durand.
And then, although eccentric, Caudéran is far from being out of step with a project of this magnitude. “We receive 100,000 visitors per year, in a neighborhood with 40,000 inhabitants. Here, the concept of a ‘third place’, an intermediary between home and a traditional performance hall, works to its fullest. The library opened in 2019. It was designed as a place where you can move easily from one space to another, where all generations can come together, where all forms of culture can intersect. It is quite logical to install a work there which is an artistic craft, like a tapestry, but which is inspired by popular art, such as cartoons. »
Relief effects produced thanks to a clever play of materials and colors.
Ch. L.
Sensation de relief
Art and crafts: we measure the extent to which the two are mixed by contemplating this large format, which represents Chihiro, the little girl from the cartoon facing, therefore, the Faceless: a character without identity, and in whom this lack triggers an appetite insatiable. Seen from a few meters away, we have a real feeling of relief between the piles of food and dishes in the foreground, the two characters in the second, and traditional Japanese theater masks in the third. This effect is due to the use of threads of different materials – wool, silk, linen, etc. – and different ranges of colors between gouaches or strings of threads. All this work mobilized four people for a year and a half. It was duly validated by Hayao Miyazaki himself.
Ch. L.
Tapestry uses a wide range of materials: wool, silk, linen…
The psychology of the Faceless in particular has given rise to a whole reflection that is as technical as it is artistic, even philosophical. “The use of silk schappe (a product obtained by reworking silk waste, NLR), less shiny, more flexible and giving iridescent reflections, makes it possible to transcribe the light and transparency of the character,” explains on to the International City of Aubusson Tapestry. “While for Chihiro, we used the crimping technique: a black line drawn around her to make her stand out. » “The advantage of presenting a work like this is that it offers several levels of reading,” adds Jean-Marc Durand. It allows us to address themes such as Asian mythologies or social and family ties in Japan. »
Until January 15
The work is visible from the entrance to the library, at the desks which welcome visitors. An unmissable place where it will stay until January 15, giving rise to several events linked to Japanese and Asian cultures (read the box). Two other tapestries inspired by Miyazaki films – “My Neighbor Totoro” and “Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind” – are then to be presented in Bordeaux. But not before 2026, and probably in other places.
Visible Tuesday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. FREE ENTRANCE.
Five events not to be missed
Wednesday October 16. 3 p.m.-5 p.m.: film, creative workshop and special Japan snack for 6-12 year olds.
Saturday October 19. 11 a.m.-5 p.m.: manga day. Comic book café, manga swap, manga drawing workshop from 10 years old.
Saturday November 9. 2:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m.: introduction to sashiko, traditional Japanese embroidery.
Saturday November 30. 11 a.m.-12 p.m.: language workshop to discover the basics of Japanese writing and leave with your first name written in Kana.
Saturday December 7. 4 p.m.-4:45 p.m.: kimono dressing demonstration.
Registration on site and on 05 24 57 67 60.
