A crawling snake erupts from the sea just off the coast of the Loire estuary west of Nantes, France. Serpent d’océan, a 425-foot (130-meter) sculpture by French Chinese contemporary artist Huang Yong Ping, was completed in 2012 and is part of the Estuaire permanent public art collection that runs the length of the estuary’s 37 miles.
The serpent’s aluminum skeleton is constantly buried and uncovered by the tides, digging and disclosing its archeological relics as the water level drops. The serpent’s twisting spine echoes the curve of the neighboring Saint-Nazaire bridge, bringing the creature into harmony with its surroundings.
Huang Yong Ping was a key player in the Chinese avant-garde movement in the 1980s, and the Chinese government outlawed several of his works. He relocated to France in 1989 and is now a naturalized French citizen. With his work frequently tackling identity and the blending of cultures, it’s no surprise to see the artist bring a creature from Chinese mythology to Europe.
Serpent d’océean, despite its size and robustness, is surprisingly lively. The serpent’s skeleton ends in a slender, whip-like tail that beautifully cuts through the water, ostensibly driving the serpent’s body toward the coast. Due to the fluctuating tide and the light’s reflection, the piece constantly presents itself in varied guises depending on the time of day. And, curiously, when algae clings to the top over time, the piece takes on new significance by depicting the cycle of life and nature.
For his much-lauded Empires show in 2016, Yong Ping built on the subject by producing an even bigger snake, reaching 787 feet (240 meters). The exhibition was part of the Monumenta series, which began in 2007 with Anselm Kiefer in the Grand Palais in Paris. The Chinese artist’s snake was encircled by 305 cargo containers as part of a reflection on global trade in the final of the Monumenta displays.
On the banks of the Loire estuary at Brevin-les-Pins, Huang Yong Ping’s Serpent d’océan is a 425-foot-long public sculpture.
For his Monumenta display at the Grand Palais in Paris in 2016, the French-Chinese artist developed a variant on the topic.
