Unusual works in towns and villages: where and who are the “roadside inspired” in Nouvelle-Aquitaine?

Since the 1970s, some have nicknamed them "the inspired roadside dwellers," after a book by Jacques Lacarrière. Others prefer the more official title of landscape dwellers. Throughout France, towns and villages are adorned with touching and eccentric works by self-taught artists seized—often late in life—with a creative frenzy similar to the famous Palais idéal du facteur Cheval (Drôme) and his naive art .

In Charente-Maritime alone, we can count the Fisherman's House by Jean Palin located in Bourcefranc-le-Chapus and covered with earthenware and shells, the House of Gaiety by Ismaël Villéger and his incredible mosaics in Chérac or the Gardens of Gabriel Albert , author of 420 statues and busts in reinforced cement in Nantillé.

These creations represent only the tip of the iceberg. The Nouvelle-Aquitaine region is launching a unique call to map these unusual places and identify the creators who have transformed their domestic spaces into works of art in their own right. A map has been posted online to carry out this "participatory inventory" and share this legacy.

"Nearly forty sites are already listed. But unlike the former Poitou-Charentes region, Limousin and the former Aquitaine have been little cleared. In the Landes and Pyrénées-Atlantiques, I know of almost none; it's disturbing, almost an anomaly. In total, there must be several hundred sites in the region," assures Yann Ourry, the heritage mediator for the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, who has become fascinated by these anonymous creators.

"Most of them come from working-class, modest backgrounds and have worked in manual trades. With a few exceptions, all of them started in retirement, as if to begin a second life, and have no artistic training," explains Yann Ourry.

Outsider art, naive art, singular art? These scientific terms don't matter: "Landscape residents don't use these terms, they just want to create," the mediator smiles before detailing the criteria for inclusion in this inventory. "The creative aspect is essential. Collecting garden gnomes, even if there are plenty of them, is not an artistic act. The person must have created with their own hands with a certain idea of ​​accumulation, of occupying space," he emphasizes.

Yann Ourry has just discovered a new site in Chaniers, near Saintes, thanks to a private individual's testimony. A retiree who died in 2022 created nearly 200 animal statues there—lions, deer, storks—in complete anonymity. "These landscape dwellers are everywhere and little respected. That's why we need the public's help," summarizes Yann Ourry.