A dive thousands of meters under the ocean’s surface, where light no longer penetrates, to encounter incredible creatures, does that tempt you? This is what the traveling exhibition « Abysses », or « The Deep » for the English version, inaugurated in 2007 at the National Museum of Natural History in Paris (MNHN) and having had to date over two million visitors in France and around the world (Singapore, China, Brazil…). It is currently being presented until August 14, 2016, at the Natural History Museum of Neuchâtel, in Switzerland.
A unique exhibition in the worldAuthor, director of scientific and wildlife films, founder of the association Bloom, which is one of the partners (along with Columbia River and the National Museum of Natural History), Claire Nouvian is the curator of the exhibition. It all started in 2001 at the Monterey Aquarium in California… She discovered exceptional images of the deep-sea world that became her passion. Entirely designed in close collaboration with researchers worldwide, the colossal project that constitutes « Abysses » is unique in its kind. On the one hand, by the fantastic collection of deep-sea animals gathered here, some of which have never been shown to the public. On the other hand, for the presentation mode of these animals, unprecedented: thanks to the collaboration with the talented taxidermist from MNHN Christophe Gottini, it is the first time that deep-sea marine animals (incapable of surviving on the surface) are presented in preserved form, suspended in their aqueous environment, thanks to invisible threads embedded in the aquariums’ walls.
From the life in the midwaters to that of the abyssal plainThe exhibition unveils the unknown world of the abyss. An incredible environment that, despite extreme depths, near-total darkness, crushing pressure, icy cold, and a severe lack of food resources, hosts life… To discover this fascinating world, the Natural History Museum of Neuchâtel offers entry into a unique space transformed into a dark, dimly lit setting that guides the visitor from the surface to the most extreme depths. After learning to distinguish the different ocean depths and associated ecosystems using a simplified ocean cross-section, the visitor is immersed in the midwaters. They will notably discover striking photographs and a series of aquariums displaying specimens preserved with Alien-like morphology. Then comes the arrival in the abyssal plain… In this second part of the exhibition, the visitor discovers, in a world exclusive, a film with new images from recent dives conducted by various worldwide research institutes. Life at the bottom is just as amazing, with sparse but highly diverse fauna.
Note: Thanks to collaboration with the Natural History Museum of Neuchâtel, which is one of the partners of the Festisub, a festival ticket provides free entry to the Abysses exhibition.
Morgane CONSTANTIN