TEMPI is much more than a photographic exhibition. It is a journey through time, a sensitive dialogue between past and present, a declaration of love for a region and those who keep its memory alive.
Presented as a permanent exhibition, TEMPI unveils a series of monumental portraits by artist Philippe Echaroux, projected outdoors in public spaces across southern Corsica. Through the faces of its elders, TEMPI tells a collective story that is both intimate and universal: one of roots, transmission and identity.
TEMPI, a work combining art, territory and humanity
The word TEMPI evokes the passing of time, buried memories and the traces left by generations. Conceived by the Community of Communes of Southern Corsica, this exhibition is part of a strong desire to promote the territory’s tangible and intangible heritage. Ten monumental works have been displayed throughout the year, transforming villages, squares and façades into veritable screens of memory.
Far from traditional museums, TEMPI takes over public spaces to make art accessible to all. The projected faces appear in the night, illuminating walls and landscapes like benevolent presences. Each portrait becomes an emotional anchor, reminding us that the region is not a static backdrop, but a living community shaped by human stories.
The elders of southern Corsica, guardians of memory
At the heart of TEMPI are the women and men photographed: Toussainte, Ghita, Julie, Lucien, Pierre, Ange, Armand, Marguerite, Anna… So many unique lives, rooted in the history of southern Corsica. Each of these faces tells the story of an era marked by rural life, war, exile and working the land, but also by solidarity, mutual aid and resilience.
These portraits are not simply static images. They are accompanied by audio and written testimonies, accessible via QR codes installed at the screening venues and on the dedicated website tempi.corsica. Viewers are invited to listen, take their time and immerse themselves in these intimate stories. TEMPI thus becomes a human adventure, made up of encounters, intergenerational transmission and recognition of those who built the region.
Philippe Echaroux, a committed focus on memory
An internationally renowned artist, Philippe Echaroux is known for his Street Art 2.0 concept, combining photography, monumental projections and human engagement. Sensitive to issues of memory and invisible peoples, he has notably projected portraits of the Amazonian Paiter-Suruì people onto the trees of the Quai Branly in Paris.
With TEMPI, he turns his gaze to Corsica, a region he loves deeply. He does not seek excessive aestheticisation, but rather the truth of faces, wrinkles like lifelines, and gazes like silent stories. His work gives a universal dimension to local stories, reminding us that memory is a precious commodity to be preserved and passed on.
An experience to enjoy, an exhibition to see
TEMPI is as much an experience to enjoy as it is an exhibition to see. By bringing together contemporary art, heritage and local people, it offers a different way of discovering southern Corsica: more intimate, more human, more sensitive.
Through light, faces and stories, TEMPI reminds us that the future of a region is also built by honouring its past. It is an invitation to slow down, listen and recognise the richness of those who still carry the soul of southern Corsica in their eyes.
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