This installation, conceived as a tribute to the Saint-Benoît spring, is located at the entrance to the Maison des remparts, in a 17th-century basin. The mill features 4 cardinal points that set in motion the word N.E.W.S. (North, East, West, South). Here, the “news” turns over time, recalling Heraclitus’ pre-Socratic thought that “you never bathe in the same river twice”. Underlining the impermanence of things, the work invites us to associate the flow of water with that of life and language.
Previously installed in the Sorgue river (Vaucluse), the work has undergone the patina of time and now finds a welcome home here. N.E.W.S. reconnects with the history of the Saint-Benoît estate, where in the past, the driving force of water was used to power the mill of a textile factory. For Jean Daviot, the spring here becomes “the place of connection”.
