L’Espace Entre Nous, (The Space Between Us)
Is a newly commissioned site specific monumental eco art installation about otherness. L’Espace Entre Nous is installed in the public gardens of CreaPaysages Pepinniere in Ploemeur France.
L’Espace Entre Nous is part of my dual venue exhibition titled Alter et Idem, (other and same), an eco-art exhibition in two locations, La Galerie Boulange, and CreaPaysage Garden. To read more about the exhibition at La Galerie Boulange, follow this link.
A conversation
L’Espace Entre Nous, started with a conversation initiated by Galerie Boulange, a gallery in Guidel, with their partner, CreaPaysage, a landscape Architect in Ploemuer, France. La Galerie Boulange contacted me at the beginning of the year, and asked if I would be interested in speaking with them. Of course I said yes, and very shortly, while talking with both entities, we discovered that CreaPaysage was interested in using some materials reclaimed from formal worksites, clients, etc. I heard something about Sequoia planks, and dove in.
Public at Vernissage for L’Espace Entre Nous, CreaPaysage, John K. Melvin, June 19th, 2026
Eco-Artist John K. Melvin talks to the Vernissage public of L’Espace Entre Nous, CreaPaysage, John K. Melvin, June 19, 2026
Composition
L’Espace Entre Nous is composed of 12 planks, mostly Sequoia and Cedar, trees that a client 10 years back asked to be cut down, and CreaPaysage milled them into planks. I selected 12 from a set of 30, that had all been seasoned for about 10 years. A tremendous value of wood, that deserved to be respected as much as possible. As an Eco-Artist, I wanted to do right by the wood.
L’Espace Entre Nous, Eco Art Monumental Sculpture installation at CreaPaysage, Ploemeur France, John K. Melvin 2026
At first, the number 12, was just what I selected from the 30, but shortly an idea began to from. 12 relates to calendar; our vernissage was lining up with the summer solstice; already it was a sample of two varieties of tree; add in geopolitical tensions, and my general interest in engaging a post-truth world through the lens of Eco-Art. All these reasons and more, as a conceptual Eco-Art artist, I was in. Oh, and Sequoias come from California, just like me.
L’Espace Entre Nous, Eco Art Monumental Sculpture installation at CreaPaysage, Ploemeur France, John K. Melvin 2026
Here’s more about the concept,
In today’s world, we are confronted with realities and fantasies, and the resultant discordance blinds us to our commonalities. We don’t see the space between us as a link, we see it as a barrier. We don’t see it as a threshold to cross, we see it as a difference to exclaim. Our path to a better future is to exit our individual perspectives and embrace the reality of our shared commonality.
L’Espace Entre Nous, Eco Art Monumental Sculpture installation at CreaPaysage, Ploemeur France, John K. Melvin 2026
In form,
12 planks are vertically mounted in custom metal brackets submerged in 1m footings of concrete. Most of the planks are about 5m tall, the footprint is about 6m long and 3m wide. The sculpture is aligned on a north-south axis, and is relatively symmetrical. The viewer has a choice, there are two rings of five planks, flanking two parallel scorched planks in the middle of the sculpture. The idea is that each ring is the prison of our individual perspectives, we can’t understand the world beyond our perspective. Between these two rings of perspectives, lies equality, understanding, and otherness. To get to the middle, we must exit our perspectives, enter an objective space and engage in equality.
The piece is semi-permanent, made from reclaimed materials, and will remain until nature consumes it. Eco-Art in a nutshell.
For the summer of 2026, I have also included in the exhibition a small steel garden sculpture, EvoCrawler, part of a series I began in Napoule France, you can read about it here.
Eco-Artist John K. Melvin explains his work, EvoCrawler, to the vernissage public, 2026
EvoCrawler 2026, John K. Melvin
Thanks for all the support, as usual, I will update this page as L’Espace Entre Nous continues to engage the public, age, and weather the changes.
Here below are some more photos of the vernissage we had on June 19, 2026, thanks again.
Public at Vernissage for L’Espace Entre Nous, CreaPaysage, John K. Melvin, June 19th, 2026
Public at Vernissage for L’Espace Entre Nous, CreaPaysage, John K. Melvin, June 19th, 2026
