Retour à la caverne, Act II

For Act II of Retour à la caverne, the Palais Garnier took a significant leap back in time. All architectural features that were present in Act I disappeared, replaced by rocky cavern walls marked with human handprints. The cave became a protective place that shelters its residents from the violence of the world. The darkness revealed light.

The scattering of handprints across the facade anchored the cavern as the birthplace of cave art. Hundreds of people participated in the creation of Act II - Retour à la caverne by making prints of their hands during Mano Habilis workshops at le 19m. From September to November, participants learned how to embroider, embellishing their own handprints and posing with their creations at an Inside Out Photobooth. Their prints were collected and placed on the facade alongside hundreds of others.

On Sunday, November 12th, the cave’s entrance acted as a stage curtain that opened to reveal the cavern’s allegorical purpose. JR, Damien Jalet, and Thomas Bangalter debuted their project CHIROPTERA, a performance of 153 dancers with Amandine Albisson as the soloist, a principal at the Paris Opera.