la fontaine du poufre

The “Fountaine du Pouffre” at the Place Leon Blum in Sète, France is a response to several architectural, historical and political questions. In 1985, the mayor of Sète, Yves Marchand decided he wanted to transform what had been for fifteen years a dark, overgrown parking lot into a place where people could meet and relax. The mayor offered the commission to Nocca who built a large fountain featuring an octopus. Today the area is known as the "Place du Pouffre" (pouffre means octopus in the local Sète dialect).

The fountain is situated in a small courtyard that had existed throughout the town’s history. North and west of it are steep streets that lead to Mont St. Clair. The rear of the square is marked by a diagonal where the slope of Mont Saint Claire ends. This spatial situation necessitated a strong vertical element in the composition of the fountain in order to give the space its proper balance.

The subject, an octopus, can be found in artworks ever since the beginning of the ancient world. One could see this octopus as a nod to “Tielle“, a delicacy stuffed with octopus and a specialty of Sète. However, behind this superficial interpretation is a strong humanistic and political symbolism; the square lies directly across from the town hall and is an important political space. The citizens meet here after elections and for other regional and national events. As such the fountain should be seen in its dialogue with power.

Pierre Nocca placed an octopus, a cephalopod, at the top of the fountain over the bubbling water. The octopus symbolizes reason. One arm of the octopus is raised up in warning. This is a reminder that the mind acts as the master over the effervescent water of life. Set before the octopus is a group of frolicking dolphins, which are the heraldic animals of Sète and here symbolize intuition. The grouping uses humanistic symbolism to evince the principles of good government: a blend of reason and intuition. With its other arms, the octopus embraces the granite basin of the fountain, whose lines run through the entire surface of the cobblestone square. These lines make up a dodecahedron, a platonic body representing the universe.

Gallery "La Fontaine du Poufre".