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La Cigale
 
location:
Paris, France
Gender: Male
 |  | The Resurrection of the Passe Muraille - Catacombs, Paris, July 2013
< on 8/13/2013 10:34 AM >
|  | | | About a year ago I read a story on an English Urbex site where a Lone Wolf (AKA. Garou-Garou A.K.A. Light Fields) wrote a very detailed report on how he restored the Passue Muraille titled "The Restoration of the Passe Muraille http://www.28daysl...s-july-2012-a.html. For those of you who don't know, the Passe Muraille is an old french story where a man wakes up to realise he has the ability to walk through walls. At first he pays no attention of it until his new boss starts treating his badly, so he used his ability to scare the shit out of him. Thereafter he robs banks, jewellery stores and gets up to all sorts of mischief. He gets caught and taken to jail but he just walks out of there as well. He dreams of going to Egypt so he can walk through the great Pyramids. After falling deeply in love with a lady who is bound to a terrible man who locks her in her apartment while he seeks please and wild times. But after our hero leaves her apartment in Montmartre, he took a pill he though was a aspirin, but turned out to be a cure for his wall walking that he forgot he possessed. He gets stuck inside the wall there in Montmartre and is still there today. Or as the story goes.
There is a statue in Montmartre of the Man Who Could Walk Through Walls, and some time later, there appeared one inside the GRS des Carrieres de Paris. When I fist visited the statue underground it was not in the best form, with a broken arm. Skip forward again to Lone Wolf's report, he detailed how he made a new plaster cast, traveled across to Paris from abroad and installed the arm and restored the sculpture. I felt that, as I knew he lived abroad, the least I could do was to pass by Monsieur Dutilleul to make sure he was in good standing. He was and as I exchanged photos and stories, the Lone Wolf and myself became friends.
Early this year, there were a large number of destructions in one night. The top of the Chateau got lopped off, and sculptures in that room were torn down. The recently installed mosaic by Psycose in la Boutique was destroyed. Philber's Tombe was defaced and the Passe Muraille was destroyed… this time not just a hand, but his whole face was smashed in and he remained in a despicable state. The news was quite a shock, but what can one do apart from pick up the pieces and start again.
Early this year, there were a large number of destructions in one night. The top of the Chateau got lopped off, and sculptures in that room were torn down. The recently installed mosaic by Psycose in la Boutique was destroyed. Philber's Tombe was defaced and the Passe Muraille was destroyed… this time not just a hand, but his whole face was smashed in and he remained in a despicable state. The news was quite a shock, but what can one do apart from pick up the pieces and start again.
Lone Wolf started to recreate the sculpture from scratch, changing the design to hug the wall closer so drunk people couldn't accidentally pull off his arm when they were trying to shake it, and keep his closer to the wall. He spent over 100h making moulds and masks of his face, legs and arms to create this new version of Le Passe Muraille. Meanwhile over in Paris I was on a mission to location scout a new location for this sculpture. We wanted to change his location, making it further from the entrance so it wasn't such a tourist attraction, but more something you needed to find. I selected out a few different locations and finally settled on one. A date was set and a plan of action put into place.
The PC door was closed the day Lone Wolf and Discoplane arrived in Paris, and we felt it would be too much equipment to drop down a manhole so Lone Wolf, Discoplane, Tinkerbell (Fée Clochette) and myself all adorned a harness and abseiled down into the Petite Ceinture for the beginning of 45h underground where we would install and explore, watch movies and eat good food. For the actual instillation process… well I think this little video is going to speak more than words… so I think I'll just leave it at this.
http://www.youtube.com/embed/2ZfIClymgzg
As we were exiting we spoke to some people heading in and they said that this is going to be either the forth or the fifth version of the statue since 2001. I hope this one stays on the walls a little longer.
La Cigale
Lisez l'histoire de la Passe Muraille de Marcel Aymé: http://palf.free.f...asse_muraille.htmx
Read the story of The Man Who Could Walk Through Walls in English : http://www.stressc...tions/pm-final.pdf
[last edit 8/13/2013 10:38 AM by La Cigale - edited 1 times]
*** There is a fucking up up up*** |
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Deconstrukt
    
location:
Montreal
Gender: Male
tollesque taurum cornu
| | Re: The Resurrection of the Passe Muraille - Catacombs, Paris, July 2013
<Reply # 1 on 8/14/2013 8:00 PM >
| | | | Vraiment cool comme histoire, La Cigale1 Et beau travail de restauration, j'aime bien votre nouvelle statue!
Vade in cloacas. |
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