Introduction
Anaïs Marion has been invited to take over the Degrés Est space—dedicated to artists with ties to the Grand Est region—following a proposal by Fanny Gonella, director of FRAC Lorraine.
Born in 1992 in Metz and trained at the École européenne supérieure de l'image (EÉSI) in Poitiers, Anaïs Marion lives and works between the Creuse and Moselle departments. In 2018, she set out to retrace the route of the Baghdadbahn, a railway connecting Berlin to Baghdad in Iraq. Begun in the late 19th century by Germany and completed by the British in the early 20th century, against a backdrop of imperial expansion, this network—which was ultimately abandoned—was intended to transport Mesopotamian archaeological treasures to Europe. Through this journey, Anaïs Marion embarks on a voyage through history, geopolitics, and the memory of displaced objects. Carrying a miniature replica of a Mesopotamian winged bull from the Pergamon Museum in Berlin, she symbolically attempts to return it to its land of origin. In 2025, she finally arrives in Baghdad.
The artist develops an investigative practice in which observation, collection, and displacement become ways of rewriting history. Her works, which straddle photography, writing, and protocol, blend archaeological methodology with the poetry of inventories to explore collective memory, the circulation of knowledge, and the effects of the uprooting of cultural heritage.
Practical Information
- Exhibition
- Graphic arts
- Yes
- YES
- For adults
