On Tuesday, 5 May 2015, Olivier d’Agay, Delegate General of the Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Youth Foundation, attended the opening ceremony of The Little Prince in the Dark exhibition in Singapore, a world premiere by French visual artist Arnaud Nazare-Aga, in the presence of guests-of-honour Dr Claudie Haigneré, former French minister, astronaut (the first European woman in space) and chairwoman of the patronage committee of the Foundation, and Melissa Kwee, chief executive of the National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre (NVPC).
This one-of-a-kind touring art exhibition inspired by the original illustrations of the universally-renowned book, The Little Prince, is being presented for the very first time at the Alliance Française in Singapore as part of Voilah! 2015, an annual French cultural festival organised by the French Embassy and the Institut Français in Singapore, and pays tribute to the author, pilot and French war hero Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and also marks 50 years of diplomatic relations between Singapore and France.
Through a series of 13 unique white-coloured sculptures covered in fluorescent lacquer representing the main characters and planets from the book The Little Prince, artist Arnaud Nazare-Aga and his Paj’Art Studio bring Saint Exupéry’s illustrations to life through the senses of touch and hearing. Designed for all audiences including the visually impaired, this innovative and exciting exhibition immerses visitors into the dream world of The Little Prince, who get to touch the sculptures while listening to audio extracts of the book in French, English or Chinese.
Olivier d’Agay, grandnephew of the author of The Little Prince, summed up the experience at the exhibition opening: “This magnificent exhibition will offer Singaporean audiences the chance to discover the poetry and humanism of Saint-Exupéry in a different way while learning more about his extraordinary life, which reads like an adventure novel. It is also the very first time that blind or visually-impaired children and adults will have access to all the poetry, magic and dreams of the most widely-translated French literary work in the world thanks to this one-of-a-kind exhibition created in partnership with our Foundation. Singaporean charities for blind people including the Singapore Association of the Visually Handicapped (SAVH) will be invited to discover this exhibition with their members as part of our commitment to share Saint-Exupéry’s masterpiece with the entire world without boundaries.”
“One sees clearly only with the heart. What is essential is invisible to the eye,” says the fox to the Little Prince in the French classic. True to these words, the Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Youth Foundation supported the creation of the very first special edition of drawings (in two-dimensional relief accompanied by descriptions in Braille in both French and English) from The Little Prince adapted to tactile reading for visually-challenged people. This innovative limited-edition tactile art book published by Editions Claude Garrandes is also being displayed at the exhibition.
Exhibition: The Little Prince in the Dark
Dates: 6 May – 20 June 2015
Venue: Alliance Française de Singapour, 1 Sarkies Road, Singapore 258130
Video (French language):
Arnaud Nazare-Aga talks about his exhibition The Little Prince in the Dark.
Photos Credits : © Arron Teo
1- Nicolas Delsalle-Mun, Lionel de Saint-Exupéry, Arnaud Nazare-Aga and Olivier d’Agay with the sculpture of the lamplighter.
2- Dr Claudie Haigneré gives a speech at the opening ceremony of the exhibition.
3- Sculptures of the king and the Little Prince with the baobab.
4- Nicolas Delsalle-Mun, Olivier d’Agay, Arnaud Nazare-Aga and Dr Claudie Haigneré with the sculpture of the Little Prince and the fox.
5- Arnaud Nazare-Aga with his sculpture of the Little Prince on Asteroid B-612.
Press review:
TODAY Online :
http://www.todayonline.com/entertainment/arts/voilah-2015-enter-world-little-prince
The Straits Times Online :
http://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/more-lifestyle-stories/story/the-little-prince-heads-contingent-all-things-french-the-voil
