o.t. (findling), 2025
Documenta Halle, Kassel
Plurale Festival

In Lyon, the third biggest city in France, a big rock is sitting on the hilltop in the neighbourhood of Croix-Rousse. There is a theory about the rock that is rooted in local folklore from Croix-Rousse, a historic working-class district that was once separated by a wall from the wealthier part of the city until the 19th century. During the construction of the funicular railway meant to connect Lyon’s two main hills, Croix-Roussian workers had to remove large quantities of rock. The stone was so hard that it brought their work to a standstill. Rather than discard it, they decided to excavate it carefully, place it on a pedestal, and install it in the heart of their neighbourhood. The stone later became the subject of a local legend which says that the greedy judge Jean Tourette who also was a landlord evicted a family out of their home during a cold winter because they paid late. God himself, outraged by this act, appeared before the judge and said: „Only someone with a heart of stone could be capable of such cruelty.“ To punish him, he turned the heart of Jean Tourette into a pebble, which fell from his chest and would not stop growing until Tourette would recognize his own ruinous greediness. The foundling until today remains a lasting symbol of justice, solidarity, and the enduring spirit of Lyon’s working class.