The Bassins de Lumières Illuminations at Base Sous Marine in Bordeaux

A relic from the once German occupied city of Bordeaux has been transformed into an impressive art space. This giant ex-submarine port building provides ample space for immersive experiences; and the juxtaposition of industrial concrete and fine art has a captivating charm. Read on to learn more about the Bassins de Lumières illuminations at Base Sous Marine in Bordeaux.

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La Base Sous Marine

Boulevard Alfred Daney, 33000, Bordeaux

During the war, a large submarine base was built along the Garonne River, in the Port of Bordeaux. This honeycomb of a U-boat parking garage, would see years of disuse before the regeneration of this area of Bordeaux. Deemed too difficult to demolish; the Base Sous Marine has been turned into a remarkable modern art space. The giant submarine bays now work as negative space by which to frame illuminations; and other immersive art installations, concerts and ‘underground’ artistic endeavours.

Bassins de Lumières

Bassins de Lumières is part of the programme of illuminated immersive art exhibitions, along with Atelier des Lumières in Paris, the Carrières de Lumières at Les Baux-de-Provence. By projecting artworks and digital art into spaces it removes the usual wall-frame dynamic, and provides the visitor with an art embrace of sorts.

The Gustav Klimt illuminations ran until May 30, 2021 (and at certain evening times after that). Monet, Renoir, and Chagall: Journeys Around the Mediterranean runs until January 2, 2022.

The Space

You enter the space in the pitch black, and all of a sudden you find yourself in completely alien surroundings. While your eyes adjust, the layers of Base Sous Marine’s vastness reveal themselves. Promenades and bridges traverse the U-boat docks, and the blackness of the water is somewhat ominous. The huge concrete walls light up with digital compositions of vivid artworks. Removing them from the shackles of frames and white-walled galleries and manipulating that usual dynamic.

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The Negative Space

The U-boat pools, in their blackness, are the equivalent of white walls in a normal gallery. They provide the eye with much needed respite from the visually impactful projections. Yet, at times, they also reflect the illuminations, becoming part of the show. They are still connected to the river, so blackness sometimes gives way to ripples and a gentle lapping.

The Amphitheatre

At the back of the exhibition space is an amphitheatre where visitors can sit and watch an illuminated history of art. From this vantage point, you can also enjoy floor projections too.

The Silo

As you are guided by natural flow through the space, you reach a silo. Presumably once used for fuel or something similar. Within the silo you are now able to sit cross-legged and enjoy a 360 immersive light experience. There is a very satisfying dynamic between the circle of the silo and the square surroundings. The building therefore plays a huge role in how you receive the exhibition – much how a frame can change the way you see a painting.

Be sure to explore the rest of the city of Bordeaux while you’re in the Gironde!

Klimt & Klee

During our first visit, there were two major projections ‘playing’ – Gustav Klimt and Paul Klee. Their styles share qualities in colour and block style, however that is where the similarities diverge. Klee’s frenetic style sits like graffiti on the concrete walls of the Base Sous Marine. Perhaps a choice made purposefully. Klimt’s portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer shone like gold leaf, her lips many feet across. And his painting ‘The Kiss’ held people hypnotised by at that scale.

Monet, Renoir, and Chagall: Journeys Around the Mediterranean

The second exhibition we enjoyed at the Bassins de Lumières was the glorious interpretations of the Mediterranean by Renoir, Monet, Pissarro, Signac, Derain, Vlaminck, Dufy, and Chagall, and others. Awash with luscious colour and eliciting the warmth of the Med, these illuminations were a joy.

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The Bassins de Lumières Illuminations at Base Sous Marine

Whether it is the Klimt / Klee exhibition you see, or any of the other fringe art installations or performances that are liable to end up in the Base Sous Marine; it is an awe-inspiring space. More than just the brutalist behemoth of its exterior view, there is a freedom about such a blank slate of a building. The irony and interplay of having Klimt, painter to wealthy jews in Austria, wrap and conquer the walls of an ex Nazi U-boat dock, is not lost on people I’m sure. Or at least it shouldn’t be.

That is the magic of art really, when an exhibition can speak to those who either want to unwrap it, or to those who don’t. The Bassins de Lumières immersive art show in Bordeaux is a feat of digital genius; and a triumphant regeneration of perfunctory space. Catch it if you can…

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