{"id":98222,"date":"2026-08-04T09:54:48","date_gmt":"2026-08-04T07:54:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/petit-montagnard.fr\/?p=98222"},"modified":"2026-08-04T09:54:49","modified_gmt":"2026-08-04T07:54:49","slug":"restoring-the-site-to-its-sacred-nature-in-the-haute-tarentaise-an-artist-transforms-the-little-st-bernard-pass-into-a-sensory-experience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/petit-montagnard.fr\/en\/redonner-au-site-sa-nature-sacree-en-haute-tarentaise-une-artiste-transforme-le-col-du-petit-saint-bernard-en-experience-sensorielle\/","title":{"rendered":"\u00abRestoring the site to its sacred nature\u00bb: in the Haute Tarentaise, an artist transforms the Little St Bernard Pass into a sensory experience"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>At an altitude of 2,188 metres, between France and Italy, the Little St Bernard Pass is this summer becoming the setting for an extraordinary artistic experience. Until 20 September, the artist Natacha Rottier is taking over the Hospice with \u00abPurple Solstice \u2013 Le Creuset du Petit Saint-Bernard\u00bb, an immersive exhibition exploring the deep connections between light, landscape, memory and transformation. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>READ OUR SPECIAL REPORT :\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/petit-montagnard.fr\/en\/high-tarentaise\/\">Haute Tarentaise, \u00abthe roof of Savoie\u00bb<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For this child of La Rosi\u00e8re, now settled in Bourg-Saint-Maurice, it is the culmination of her efforts. <em>\u00abIt's a bit like the culmination, exhibiting in this place, because it's really in situ, really adapted to this place.\u00bb<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A phenomenon observed on a solstice evening<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It all started with a personal experience on 21 June 2021. That evening, up on the mountain pass, Natacha Rottier witnessed a rare phenomenon. <em>\u00abOn the day of the solstice, the last rays of the sun set right in a small V-shaped pass behind the Lancebranlette, and illuminate the stone circle. Half of the plateau is in shadow and the other in the light\u00bb<\/em> does she tell in <a href=\"https:\/\/petit-montagnard.fr\/en\/\">Le Petit Montagnard<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>READ MORE: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/petit-montagnard.fr\/en\/a-gourmet-stop-and-a-cosy-nest-in-haute-tarentaise-the-manager-of-the-hospice-du-petit-saint-bernard-has-opened-her-doors-to-us\/\">\u00abGourmet stop,\u00bb \u00abcosy nest\u00bb: in Haute Tarentaise, the manager of the refuge-restaurant at the Hospice du Petit Saint-Bernard opened her doors to us<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This mysterious circle of stones, difficult to date but at least Celtic, then takes on an unexpected hue. <em>\u00abJust after the last rays disappeared, a violet light emanated from the circle.\u00bb<\/em> Hence the title of the exhibition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That evening, the almost full Moon sets opposite the Sun. <em>\u00abFor me, there was a perfect balance between opposing polarities, on a territorial scale but also a cosmic one\u00bb <\/em>recalls the artist, who sees it as the shift from the longest day to the shortest day. A founding shock that would trigger five years of research in his studio at the Friche artistique in Bourg-Saint-Maurice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Paper stained glass, sculptures and film<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">From this vision emerged an initial motif \u2013 a mandorla depicting the phenomenon as seen from the sky \u2013 which now appears in various forms throughout the exhibition. For \u00abPurple Solstice\u00bb takes on many forms. <em>\u00abThere is a film, translucent collages like paper stained glass, sculptures that are models proposing sensory spaces, photographs\u2026\u00bb<\/em> provide details on Natacha Rottier. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A transdisciplinary body of work (installation, video, writing, sound design, and a piece of music composed with her partner) that engages in a dialogue with the architecture of the hospice and the thousand-year history of the mountain pass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Behind the approach, a conviction. <em>\u00abThe challenge is to restore the sacred nature of the site\u00bb<\/em> explains the artist, who sees in this place, even older than its Greco-Roman remains, <em>\u00aba connection to the earth and to the sky, a connection to the divine.\u00bb<\/em> An intuition rooted in history. A bust of Jupiter, evidence of a cult dedicated to Heracles and an ancient statuette of a mother goddess have been found there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Energy walks\u00ab <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But the exhibition does not stop at the walls of the hospice. All summer long, Natacha Rottier is offering immersive events, chief among which are her <em>\u00abenergy walks\u00bb<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>READ MORE: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/petit-montagnard.fr\/en\/celtic-remains-alpine-garden-hikes-what-to-do-this-summer-at-the-petit-saint-bernard-pass-follow-the-guide\/\">Haute Tarentaise: Celtic remains, alpine garden, hikes... What to do this summer at the Petit-Saint-Bernard pass? Follow the guide!<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>\u00abThe aim is really to be in the feeling, the body. I take them to certain specific points on the pass to make them feel the breathing of the place, guided by the elements: air, earth, water\u00bb<\/em> she explains. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To go further, on 20 August the artist will give a lecture in the European room of the hospice, entitled \u00abThe Little St Bernard Pass: an initiatory, alchemical place?\u00bb. This will be an opportunity to share the fruits of his research (mythology, megalithism, the figure of St Bernard) and to invite everyone to take a fresh look at this pass, no longer just as a place of passage, but as a space for experience and contemplation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Find out more :<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Exposition:<\/strong> \u00abPurple Solstice \u2013 Le Creuset of the Little Saint Bernard\u00bb, by Natacha Rottier<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Where:<\/strong> Hospice du Petit Saint-Bernard, S\u00e9ez<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>When<\/strong> from 20 June to 20 September<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Price :<\/strong> free admission<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Lecture:<\/strong> \u00abThe Petit Saint-Bernard Pass: a place of initiation and alchemy?\u00bb, 20 August at 3.00 pm, the European Room at the hospice<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Not to be missed:<\/strong> energetic walks, guided tours and meet-ups all summer long<\/li>\n<\/ul>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>At an altitude of 2,188 metres, between France and Italy, the Little St Bernard Pass is becoming the setting for an extraordinary artistic experience this summer. Until 20 September, the artist Natacha Rottier is taking over the Hospice with \u00abPurple Solstice \u2013 Le Creuset du Petit Saint-Bernard\u00bb, an immersive exhibition exploring the deep connections between light, landscape and memory.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":98235,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[230],"tags":[65,327,281,572,581,351],"class_list":["post-98222","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-culture","tag-a-la-une","tag-alpes-du-nord","tag-culture","tag-haute-tarentaise","tag-haute-tarentaise-2026","tag-savoie"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/petit-montagnard.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98222","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/petit-montagnard.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/petit-montagnard.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/petit-montagnard.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/petit-montagnard.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=98222"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/petit-montagnard.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98222\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":98234,"href":"https:\/\/petit-montagnard.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98222\/revisions\/98234"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/petit-montagnard.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/98235"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/petit-montagnard.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=98222"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/petit-montagnard.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=98222"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/petit-montagnard.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=98222"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}