Cornucopia

Last time we were in Fanjeaux, I must have picked up a leaflet about their annual summer art show. So today when I fancied going out somewhere, I thought I might as well go there. Also, it's sunflower season and I know there are lots of sunflower fields around there.

Unfortunately the further west I drove, the more overcast and hazy it became; the sunflowers were only just starting to come out and conditions were definitely not ideal for photographs.

The art exhibition on the other hand is most impressive. It's in an 18th century house next to the church, which looks big from the outside and is positively Tardis-like on the inside, a maze of corridors, steps, rooms beyond rooms, odd little nooks and crannies to squeeze into. The exhibition involved 38 artists, and I'd say they all showed at least half a dozen works each. 

It could have been a mess, but they had been cleverly and thoughtfully displayed to complement each other. I liked these room dividers which allowed different artists to be visually separated, without cutting down on light and circulation. Three floors of art, plus an attic where two textile artists have studios. 

There were quite a few items I'd have taken home if I could have afforded them. I liked Christine Beglet's colourful, minutely detailed architectural collages (extra). Jean-François Scalbert's paintings made me smile; he lives in Switzerland and incorporates watch movements and LED lights into his canvases. The paintings obviously have hidden motion sensors, so when you stand in front of one it starts moving and flashing. I must have spent close to two hours wandering round, with a pause in the garden with its massive old trees, plus some large sculptures, to drink mint tea and contemplate the greenery. 

The website for the exhibition is terrible, but you can have a look at the slideshow. I talked to the ladies at the desk on my way out and they said they'd been doing the exhibition annually since 2017, restoring one room of the house each year and opening every afternoon throughout the summer. It's very impressive for an association in a small village.

I had realised on the way there that the Friday afternoon before the big holiday changeover weekend between July and August was not the best time to be taking the autoroute. It wasn't too bad going away from the coast, but having seen the slow-moving traffic heading seawards I decided I'd better avoid it on the way back. So I went along the Nationale, along with all the other people who had the same idea, and got stuck in the 6 pm traffic jam in the roadworks outside Carcassonne. Hence a slow but scenic cross-country detour ... it took me the best part of an hour and a half to get home. So it's a quiet evening in now.