PIERRE HUYGHE NYMPHÉAS TRANSPLANT (14 – 18) | Page 6

NYMPHÉAS TRANSPLANT (14 – 18), 2014
Unlike the fictional and foreboding environments of his saltwater aquariums, Huyghe’s
fresh water Nymphéas Transplant aquariums (currently three versions exist) are based
on the nymphéas (French for “water lily”) pond ecosystems of Claude Monet’s gardens
in Giverny, France, incorporating plants, fish, amphibians, crustaceans and insects
typically found in the ponds. Huyghe interpreted the climatic data of Giverny from
a given date or time period to design a lighting program for the aquarium, as evident
in the title Nymphéas Transplant (14 – 18), which refers to the years of 1914 to 1918.
These years encompass World War I, as well as the creation of Monet’s famous Water
Lilies panoramic installation for the Musée de l’Orangerie in Paris.
Nymphéas Transplant (14 – 18) is the largest of Huyghe’s three nymphéas aquariums.
The water has a slight greenish colour, an effect of the ecosystem. The glass panels of
the aquarium tank are fabricated from “smart glass,” a type of glass than can change
from translucent to transparent according to voltage, light or heat. The tank sits on
a concrete base. A light box is suspended over the tank, which is controlled by a
DMX system. The light box is programmed for eight hours of viewing time (a program
abstracted from the climatic data of Giverny 1914 – 1918), followed by eight hours
of specialized light to sustain the ecosystem during which time the aquarium glass is
opaque. This is followed by eight hours of darkness to create a circadian rhythm for the
animals. The timing of these periods is flexible and does not need to correspond to the
actual external conditions of the location where it is installed.
The aquatic plants inside the aquarium were procured from the gardens of LatourMarliac from where Claude Monet originally bought his water lilies. Created in 1870,
Latour-Marliac’s gardens are devoted entirely to different species of aquatic plants,
particularly the water lily. The aquarium also contains a plant, water lily, stone and
microorganisms from Monet’s actual ponds in Giverny.
Monet, who lived at Giverny from 1883 until his death in 1926, explored the motif of the
water lily in over 250 paintings. First exhibited in Paris in 1909, Monet’s water lilies were
at first well received but subsequently became less appreciated by his contemporaries.
By the time Water Lilies opened at the Musée de l’Orangerie in the Jardins des Tuileries
in Paris in 1927, his work had fallen out of favour. It was not until the late 1940s and
early 1950s that interest in Monet and his water lilies was revived in avant-garde circles.
In 1952 French modernist artist André Masson described the Orangerie as the “Sistine
chapel of Impressionism.” Monet’s work became seen as a precursor to Abstract
Expressionism and Arte Informale movements, and in 1955 The Museum of Modern
Art in New York acquired the famous mural-sized water lilies triptych.

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