emmanuelle moureaux’s TIMELINE artwork lands in paris like a multicolored ray of light

timeline by emmanuelle moureaux emerges in lumière, paris

French artist Emmanuelle Moureaux expands her 100 colors series with TIMELINE, a site-specific installation locatedinside Lumière, the largest private office building in Paris on the 12th arrondissement, at the heart of the Bercy business district. The building has seven upper floors divided into two wings linked by an impressive atrium. Complementing the architecture’s unique morphology, Moureaux has introduced this multicolored artwork as a symbol of the diversity of people and moments of life. TIMELINE is the artist’s first permanent project from her 100 colors series. 

100 colors and 3,200 digits turn into an abstract ray of light

Inspired by the sky and the glass roof of the atrium, TIMELINE by Emmanuelle Moureaux (see more here) is an abstract visualization of a beam of light passing through the building in 100 shades of colors. These colors represent 3,200 digits, each denoting a year. At the bottom, Moureaux begins with 2023 and 2024; the years stack up one by one toward the sky, reaching 18 meters in height. The present is expressed in white, while future years are expressed in colors. This chromatic gradation from the bottom emphasizes the flow of time. Moreover, all numbers face the lounge area of the office building and the glass facade on the other side. They’re also fixed to prevent them from turning, thus appearing like a natural line of light, even when viewed from a distance.

Living in Tokyo since 1996, Emmanuelle Moureaux is inspired by the complex and evolving layers and colors of the Japanese city and its traditional spatial elements, like sliding screens. With that, she has created the concept of ‘shikiri,’ which literally means ‘dividing (creating) space with colors.’ Using colors as her signature, her artworks extend to several projects, including architectural design for Sugamo Shinkin Bank, art installations for UNIQLO and ISSEY MIYAKE, 100 colors’ art installation series, and Forest of Numbers at The National Art Center, Tokyo.

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project info:

name: 100 colors no.47 TIMELINE

location: Lumière, 40 Avenue des Terroirs de France, 75012 Paris

artist: Emmanuelle Moureaux | @emmanuellemoureaux

photographers: Theo Baulig | @theobaulig, Raphael Metivet

size: width 2,300mm / depth 2,300mm / height 18,220 mm
materials: Galvanized steel, stainless steel
date: 2023