As part of a collaboration between Rubis Mécénat and the Frac Normandie Rouen, Geert Goiris travelled through twelve port areas belonging to the Rubis Terminal company in 2017. Peak oil, a photographic work on the theme of the contemporary industrial landscape, resulted from this experience. The corpus of images materializes in different forms: an exhibition at the Frac, an edition and two installations, one of which, Centrochelys Sulcata, shows a giant sulcata turtle on the tanks of the Rouen site of Rubis Terminal since 2018.
“The sulcata turtle represented is an emblem of longevity and stability, and can be considered a true living fossil whose origin goes back to prehistoric times. According to the artist, it thus echoes the hydrocarbons on which society is dependent. By transferring this sulcata turtle to the gigantic reservoirs of Rubis Terminal Rouen, Geert Goiris establishes an analogy between the animal and the oil activity linked to this industrial territory. *
*Geert Goiris, Centrochelys Sulcata, depuis 2018, Rubismecenat.fr