A monumental bronze sculpture by acclaimed Basque artist Kepa Akixo, known professionally as Zigor, will be unveiled in front of Bayonne's renovated media library on Thursday, October 23. The installation marks a significant cultural milestone as it represents the first public artwork by this major Basque sculptor to be placed in Bayonne's public spaces, despite his works being featured in neighboring cities including Anglet, Biarritz, Ciboure, Guéthary, and Urrugne.
The sculpture, titled "Tree of Knowledge," stands 3.4 meters tall and will be installed on Wednesday, October 22, one day before the official inauguration of the renovated media library. The bronze artwork symbolically represents "all possibilities of thought" at this cultural location, according to the verse with which Zigor signs his creation. True to his artistic tradition, the sculptor notes with amusement, "I always put a little poem with my sculptures that nobody reads."
The selection of the installation site was entirely the artist's choice after the mayor approached him with complete creative freedom. Zigor explains his selection process: "The mayor asked me if I wanted to imagine something in Bayonne, with no location constraints. I first wandered around, taking many walks along the ramparts and through the neighborhoods." His methodical approach involved extensive exploration, during which he photographed potential sites, took notes, and sketched preliminary ideas in what he calls his "exploration notebooks."
The artist was drawn to the media library location as he observed its construction progress. "I watched the media library grow behind the construction barriers, neighboring the cathedral where I like to go," Zigor recalls. He was particularly inspired by the contrast between the new glass volumes dedicated to paper volumes and the architectural relationship with the historic cathedral. The sloping forecourt with its tiered steps provided what he described as "interesting luminosity and empty space" in a location that was "not too large, quite intimate."
This installation coincides with a traveling exhibition titled "Living the Slope" that began its first stop on Friday, May 3, featuring nearly 70 photographs and drawings by the Biarritz-based artist. The exhibition will continue to Irissarry in July and Mauléon in November. The tree theme chosen for the Bayonne sculpture represents one of the recurring motifs in Zigor's artistic work, making it particularly fitting for this cultural setting. The artist conducted his formal research in his studio using notebooks to develop the concept from initial idea to final material execution.
