OAO
48° 16' 5''N, 5° 4' 25'' 0 - Mer d'Iroise
The Observatoire Artistique de l’Océan (OAO) was the boat-studio of Nicolas Floc’h since few years. This small 9.15-meter ketch, built in 1975, served as both his workspace for the Initium Maris expedition and an occasional residency for young artists. This artistic expedition was conducted in collaboration with scientific teams and citizen groups along the coasts and islands of Brittany. Its photographic mission aims to depict underwater spaces at a time when climate change is causing significant disruptions to ecosystems. The photographs of marine landscapes and habitats create a unique representation of an entire territory at a specific moment in time (2018–2022) from an underwater perspective.
This residency offered a starting point for long-term artistic projects connected to professionals and researchers from various disciplines, including archaeology, geology, ecology, and the hard sciences. In the summer of 2020, to mark the 10th anniversary of Finis Terrae, Nicolas Floc’h hosted Julia Borderie and Éloise Le Gallo in residence, working from Brest and Ouessant.
