Musée de Confluences / Museum of Confluence Lyon. Day 119. August 26th 2019
I am in love with this building. It might just be my favourite building in the WORLD!! But then I am prone to exaggeration. I have photographed it from every angle, almost every day. The shapes, the glass, the towering construction, the reflection of the confluence of the two rivers confluence in the building design.
In addition to the beauty and challenge of the building itself, it houses a museum. A fantastic collection reflecting Confluence – the name of the area, where the rivers Rhone and Saone meet – and the name of the building.
The building construction was described in one article as like the construction of a Meccano set pieced together. It sits at the end of a group of buildings lining the river, many having innovative architectural structures.
The museum carried through the concept of “confluence” within the exhibitions. “Confluence of rivers and knowledge”. A merging of themes, cultures, and disciplines; palaeontology, archeology, anthropology, sociology, art history and more all sharing space. What was new was that these were combined in the four sections of the permanent exhibitions: Origins, Species, Societies, Eternities. “The muse des Confluences tells the story of mankind and the history of life. It sets up a dialogue between all the sciences to better understand the world”. So says the Museum’s introduction.
We visited twice – once was not enough to take in all it had to offer and assimilate the stories.
Highlights of the visit for me:
In Societies – The organisation of society and the blending of ancient and modern political organisation and culture.
A surprise to see a collection of Indigenous Art from Australia – mostly contemporary and reflecting themes of the museum – organisation. A surprise also to see a clip from a 1984 movie directed by Werner Herzog that neither Australian in this couple had ever heard of. “Where the Green Ants Dream” A short scene showing a white representative of a mining company negotiating for land takeover with a group of indigenous men – and this continues to be relevant to this very day!
Poignantly it also vividly portrayed the lack of recognition of this ancient culture for the last 200years by Europeans – white Australians.
Eternities – visions of the beyond.
Exploring societies relationships with death from ancient to modern. The walls between exhibits were perforated symbolising the fluid interaction between life and death.
A grave of a Koban woman found in the Northern Caucasus area North Assetia. Displayed with a mirror reflecting her image – not ones own. This was the only grave in the necropolis to survive to modern times.
Magnificent prehistoric skeletons
This included a mammoth, a huge Camarasauras and the Megaloceros – the largest type of deer known. The male antlers could measure up to a massive 3.5metres.
Nearby were a nest of dinosaur eggs laid 70million years ago. Now fossilised they have a mosaic appearance from the pressure over time. This was a favourite in the exhibition for Chris.
Societies – Exchange and the Tevau Money Coil
A favourite exhibit for me was the Tevau money coil from the Santa Cruz islands. Made up of thousands of red feathers attached to natural fibre in two coils. Estimated to take 700hours of work to create one coil. A form of money used in weddings to present to the husband and his family.
Feather Money Coil
The Wedding Dress Merging Tradition with Innovation
A creation demonstrating the merging of tradition (wedding) and innovation (technological textile). This was constructed/woven by a company with a long tradition in the Lyon silk weaving and therefore used to weaving fine threads.
So much to say about this wonderful space – the Confluence Museum.
Travel Tips
The museum is open late – till 10pm on Thursday evenings. Closed on Mondays.
An excellent audio/visual app is available with free WiFi in the building – well if you can’t get to Lyon you could just listen to the wonderful App information. Here on both the APPLE STORE and on GOOGLE PLAY
