L’Ile Penotte (The Penotte Island)Danielle Aubin-Arnaud (aka “La Dame aux coquillages [The Shell Lady])
Extant
3 Avenue Carnot, Les Sables-d'Olonne, Pays de la Loire, 85100, France
begun 1997
One may visit and view Aubin-Arnaud’s work all year long.
About the Artist/Site
A day in Sables d’Olonne is a good opportunity to discover the work of Gaston Chaissac at theMuseum of the L’Abbaye Sainte-Croix. But it is also an opportunity to discover L’Ile Penotte, a nearby pedestrian neighborhood that is pleasant and picturesque. One may enter from Travot street, Palais street, or Trompeuse street. It is at the heart of these small lanes that a local girl who has come to be known as the “Shell Lady” began, in September 1997, to ornament the walls and building façades with mosaics created from shells. As she kept working, she continued on decorating doors, lintels, mailboxes, and more, making her neighborhood a little paradisiacal island that little groups of amazed tourists visit throughout the summer.
Among the figures are those of the god Neptune with his trident, Ulysses with the sirens who called to him, and Nosferatu. There is also a varied bestiary complete with seagulls, bats, and owls, as well as a phoenix, a toucan, a cat, a butterfly, a frog, a seahorse, fish, dolphins, and an octopus. There are also flowers, suns, ships, lighthouses, and beautiful framed paintings. The work is colorful and uses all kinds of shells.
One may visit and view Aubin-Arnaud’s work all year long.
~Sophie Lepetit and Laurent Danchin
Translated by Jo Farb Hernández
Map & Site Information
3 Avenue Carnot
Les Sables-d'Olonne, Pays de la Loire, 85100
fr
Latitude/Longitude: 46.4980247 / -1.7831273
Nearby Environments
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