“The Memory of Walls”: A Photographic and Poetic Exploration by Marc Dantan

The University of Montpellier boasts many remarkable buildings—some of which are designated as historic monuments—that are linked to its teaching and research activities in a wide range of scientific fields. Among them are the historic building of the Faculty of Medicine, the Institute of Botany, and the Institute of Biology.

With a view to preserving a documentary record of these buildings—particularly those undergoing restoration and renovation—a photography project was commissioned from Marc Dantan in 2022. It turns out that these photographs, far from serving merely as a historical record, offer a poetic perspective on spaces largely unknown to the general public. The exhibition thus invites visitors to share in this sensory experience at the Orangerie in the Jardin des Plantes, itself an iconic building of the University of Montpellier and a designated historic monument.