A mural painted from more than a hundred photographs sent in by people of the Vexin Normand, on oak staves from cider barrels. Created in the church at Martagny, installed in Giverny for the centenary of Claude Monet’s death.
100+
photographs sent in by residents and visitors
40
solid oak staves from cider barrels
2 months
of residency in the church of Saint-Vincent, Martagny
6.2 metres
wide, approx. 3.7 m high, free-standing steel structure
1 tonne
of steel and oak
Technical details
Title Norman Mirror (Miroir Normand)
Year 2026
Medium Acrylic paint on oak staves from cider barrels, free-standing galvanised steel structure
Dimensions Approx. 620 × 370 × 220 cm
Concept Daniel Nicolaevsky
Participation More than 100 photographs by residents and visitors of the Vexin Normand
Residency Festival Photo Martagny, 9th edition, church of Saint-Vincent, Martagny, 15 June to 31 August 2026
Unveiling 30 August 2026, Martagny
Installation Pré de l’École, rue Claude Monet, Giverny, inaugurated on 17 September 2026
Co-production Visions d’Ailleurs, Festival Photo Martagny
Support Département de l’Eure, as part of “Monet Monet Monet – Pour toujours dans l’Eure”
Photos Anthony Clergue, Jean-Philippe Benoît (Flashpix Studio), Frédéric Grimaud
Unveiling video Frédéric Grimaud
Rights Daniel Nicolaevsky © ADAGP, Paris, 2026
The call
“Get your cameras out. Wander the villages of the Vexin Normand.” As part of the Festival Photo Martagny, anyone could send in up to five photos. More than a hundred images arrived: fields, rivers, heritage, tractors, animals, gardens.
These photos were first selected, printed and drawn, then transposed into paint.
The digital becomes matter.
The open studio
For two months, the church at Martagny became a studio. The public could come in, watch the work progress, ask questions, lend a hand.
Each stave was planed, sanded and coated with gesso, then painted with exterior wood acrylic and finished with protective layers against the weather.
The unveiling
On 30 August, the closing day of the 9th Festival Photo Martagny, the mural was unveiled in the church, in the presence of the Département de l'Eure, local elected officials, participants and residents.
The participants’ names are inscribed on the structure: everyone can find their photo in the landscape.
GIVERNY
After Martagny, the work set off for Giverny, a few steps from the Musée des Impressionnismes. The festival team, volunteers and residents of Martagny came to install it, together with the Mairie de Giverny and the teams of the Département de l'Eure.
It was inaugurated on 17 September 2026, in the presence of Catherine Delalande and Sébastien Depoix, among others. A work born in the Vexin Normand, installed on Claude Monet’s land.
Partners
Co-production
Visions d'Ailleurs
Support
Département de l'Eure
Residency
Commune de Martagny
Hosting the work
Mairie de Giverny
Thanks to Laurent Lucas and the whole Festival Photo Martagny team, to Alexandre Rassaërt, President of the Département de l'Eure, and his teams, to Laurent Lainé, Mayor of Martagny, to the Mairie de Giverny, to the volunteers, and to everyone who sent in their photos.