To mark the bicentenary of the birth of Augustin Mouchot (1825-1912), the forgotten pioneer of solar energy, Le Bahut (Semur-en-Auxois) is devoting an ambitious, multidisciplinary exhibition to him: Sous le soleil exactement. From 21 June to 24 August 2025, the event pays tribute to a visionary figure, while exploring our contemporary relationship with the sun - a source of energy and life, but also a threat of aridity and drought.
Born in Semur-en-Auxois, Mouchot was one of the first to design devices capable of converting solar radiation into mechanical and thermodynamic energy. As early as the 1860s, his solar dishes and ovens were used for cooking, distillation and printing newspapers - a world first. But despite a brief success at the 1878 Universal Exhibition, his work fell into oblivion, sacrificed on the altar of fossil industrialisation.
To bring the inventor out of the shadows, Le Bahut presents Sous le soleil exactement. Designed with the invaluable assistance of Frédéric Caille, a specialist in Augustin Mouchot and author of L'invention de l'énergie solaire (The Invention of Solar Energy), the exhibition combines scientific archives, technical documents and contemporary creations to bring together the discoveries of the 19th century with the challenges of the 21st. Through the works of some fifteen artists working in the fields of photography, video, digital art, street art and contemporary art, it explores the ambivalence of the sun: vital light or danger, promise of autonomy or threat to the climate.
At a time of energy transition, they show the diversity of representations and uses of the sun to better illuminate our future. Paying tribute to Augustin Mouchot also means asking an essential question: what if tomorrow's solutions were already yesterday's?
WITH: Juliette Bibasse & Joanie Lemercier (Solar Lab), Tom Bouchet, Sabine Cibert, Ulysse Lacoste, Isabelle Lartault et Michel Verjux, Aïda Lorrain, Georges Méliès, Augustin Mouchot et Abel Pifre, Marcela Paz Undurraga, Hadrien Tequi, Pierre Van Hove, Juliette Vivier, Gwenola Wagon, Igor Wojtowicz, Zevs (Aguirre Schwarz)