{"id":2149,"date":"2025-07-04T18:01:53","date_gmt":"2025-07-04T18:01:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.diamondstatemanagement.com\/?p=2149"},"modified":"2025-07-05T15:13:20","modified_gmt":"2025-07-05T15:13:20","slug":"participatory-tree-of-scanned-hands-by-jr-grows-in-montpelliers-former-church","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.diamondstatemanagement.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/04\/participatory-tree-of-scanned-hands-by-jr-grows-in-montpelliers-former-church\/","title":{"rendered":"participatory tree of scanned hands by JR grows in montpellier\u2019s former church"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tree of Hands by JR blooms in Montpellier’s Carr\u00e9 Sainte-Anne<\/h2>\n

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After seven years of restoration, the Carr\u00e9 Sainte-Anne in Montpellier reopens with a major new commission by JR<\/strong><\/a>, a participatory, large-scale tree installation<\/strong><\/a> titled Adventice. Unfolding within the nave of the neo-Gothic former church<\/strong><\/a>, the project transforms the historic site into a living artwork composed of 10,000 scanned hands from people across the world. Assembled into the form of a tree, the hands stretch toward the vaulted ceilings, forming a symbol of rootedness, migration, and collective identity.<\/p>\n

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In botanical terms, ‘adventice’ refers to plants that appear where they were not intentionally planted, often labeled as weeds. The exhibition reclaims this term to describe those presences that arrive uninvited but prove essential in the context of nature, cities, and communities. The massive tree of hands suspended inside the Carr\u00e9 Sainte-Anne captures this idea, with each hand representing an individual story and together forming a single, interconnected structure that grows with each new visitor. Additional hands can be scanned on-site and added to the artwork, allowing the installation to evolve throughout the exhibition\u2019s run, which continues until December 7th, 2025.<\/p>\n

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Adventice exhibition view, Carr\u00e9 Sainte-Anne, Montpellier, 2025 | images \u00a9 JR, unless stated otherwise<\/p>\n

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Adventice Connects Local Soil to Global Stories<\/h2>\n

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With Adventice, French artist<\/strong><\/a> JR draws on a lesser-known chapter of Montpellier\u2019s history, the arrival of foreign seeds through the medieval textile trade. Wool brought from Spain, North Africa, Constantinople, and Izmir was washed in the Lez river, unintentionally releasing seeds that took root along its banks. These plants, though not native, adapted and gradually transformed the landscape, contributing to the biodiversity of the region. The installation uses this ecological phenomenon as a metaphor for cultural exchange and migration, highlighting how external influences have helped shape Montpellier\u2019s identity.<\/p>\n

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In addition to the central installation, Adventice features five new works in wood and paper that expand on the exhibition\u2019s themes. These sculptural pieces, on view for the first time, extend JR\u2019s language of human connection into more intimate material expressions.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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a living artwork composed of 10,000 scanned hands from people across the world<\/p>\n

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he hands stretch toward the vaulted ceilings<\/p>\n

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a symbol of rootedness, migration, and collective identity<\/p>\n

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\t\t\"participatory-tree-scanned-hands-jr-montpellier-former-church-gallery-designboom-large01\"<\/p>\n

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each hand represents an individual story <\/p>\n

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JR under the tree | image by Christophe Ruiz, Montpellier Ville et M\u00e9tropole<\/p>\n

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Adventice features five new works by JR in wood and paper<\/p>\n

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Adventice, #1, Bois, 2025 \u00a9 JR<\/p>\n

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these sculptural pieces are on view for the first time<\/p>\n

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\t\t\"participatory-tree-scanned-hands-jr-montpellier-former-church-gallery-designboom-large03\"<\/p>\n

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extending JR\u2019s language of human connection<\/p>\n

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project info:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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name: <\/strong>Adventice<\/p>\n

artist:<\/strong> JR<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0@jr<\/a><\/p>\n

location:<\/strong> Carr\u00e9 Sainte-Anne, Montpellier, France<\/p>\n

dates:<\/strong> June 27th \u2013 December 7th, 2025<\/p>\n

curator:<\/strong> Numa Hambursin<\/p>\n

The post participatory tree of scanned hands by JR grows in montpellier’s former church<\/a> appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tree of Hands by JR blooms in Montpellier’s Carr\u00e9 Sainte-Anne   After seven years of restoration, the Carr\u00e9 Sainte-Anne in Montpellier reopens with a major new commission by JR, a participatory, large-scale tree installation titled Adventice. Unfolding within the nave of the neo-Gothic former church, the project transforms the historic site into a living artwork […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2151,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[11],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.diamondstatemanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2149"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.diamondstatemanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.diamondstatemanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.diamondstatemanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.diamondstatemanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2149"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.diamondstatemanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2149\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2160,"href":"http:\/\/www.diamondstatemanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2149\/revisions\/2160"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.diamondstatemanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2151"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.diamondstatemanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2149"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.diamondstatemanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2149"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.diamondstatemanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2149"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}