SOLSTICE

A project by Circle Time Studio

This artistic initiative is led by Circle Time Studio, a family and multi generational project bringing together Amélie, Benjamin, Margaux, Valérie, Vincent and Zoé Ravalec.

The Project

SOLSTICE is an artistic project that unfolds across multiple media. At its core is a series of 30 minute episodes in which artists are contacted by a mysterious entity known as The Architecture. It reveals the existence of a programme set in motion on Earth around ten thousand years ago, a programme that gave rise to the whole of human civilisation.

But the programme has been corrupted by a Bug, a dark force lurking beneath the surface that continues to keep the world running while driving it towards a direction that may ultimately prove fatal to our species. Poor management of aggression, archaic patterns of behaviour, systems of exploitation and growing inequality are all symptoms of this corruption.

Throughout the series, these young artists gradually uncover the truth and are invited to confront the Bug. The narrative draws on the timeless struggle between good and evil, complete with its own version of superheroes. Here, however, their only superpower is artistic expression and the psychological force it provides against the darkest energies.

Places of Power

At the heart of the series is an artists' house in Lévignacq, a small village in the Landes region of South-West of France steeped in history. Its remarkable church was once a stop on the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route and contains ancient paintings and drawings dating back to the eleventh century. Opposite stands a second, equally enigmatic house that forms another key location. Nearby, miraculous springs continue to attract visitors today.

Other locations featured throughout the series include:

  • Germany:

    • INITIUM ET FINIS (Lorheim), the remarkable universe created by artist Matthias Korb in Germany. This ever evolving labyrinth of found objects, sculptures and assemblages transforms an old farmhouse into a contemporary Wunderkammer, exploring memory, mortality, spirituality and humanity's place within nature. Less a museum than a total work of art, it is a place where every object tells a story and every room becomes a meditation on the beginning and the end.

    • Designpanoptikum (Berlin), an uncanny Wunderkammer of obsolete technologies and forgotten machines created by photographer Vlad Korneev. Suspended somewhere between museum, installation and dreamscape, its labyrinth of industrial relics transforms the discarded artefacts of the twentieth century into a meditation on memory, invention and the hidden life of objects.

  • Paris, where the Métro becomes a magical data centre and Notre Dame appears as a visual riddle.

  • London

    • Abney Park Cemetery, one of London's legendary Magnificent Seven Victorian cemeteries. A haunting urban woodland where Gothic ruins, ivy covered monuments and untamed nature merge into a landscape suspended between memory and decay. It is a place where history, spirituality and the quiet persistence of nature coexist.

  • Tokyo.

  • Iceland, where volcanic and tectonic forces embody the Earth's hidden energies.

SOLSTICE is therefore an international series, brought together by artistic expression and a community of independent artists from diverse cultural backgrounds.

An Independent Production Model

SOLSTICE is built on a production model that exists entirely outside conventional industrial structures. Beyond the practical challenges of financing, this is also a statement of intent: to demonstrate that it is now possible to take ownership of a medium, complete an ambitious narrative and bring it directly to audiences without relying on the machinery of cultural industrialisation, a system that has, on a global scale, often become deeply harmful.

It is also a way of shining a light on a vast network of artists who work largely out of sight, pursuing their practice without chasing excessive commercial success or media recognition. Despite its many flaws, today's world makes this possible. SOLSTICE is driven by a desire to build genuine connections across cultures and countries, based on collaboration rather than exploitation.

An Expanding Constellation

The series is only the visible tip of a much larger body of work. A feature film will accompany it. Several documentaries have already been completed. A novel is currently being written, alongside a graphic novel. Together, these works form a growing creative constellation.

Get Involved

Anyone is welcome to contribute ideas to the project, and the entire team would be delighted to receive them. A dedicated page on the website allows visitors to share proposals and creative concepts. While not every idea will necessarily become part of the project, this spirit of collaboration, connection and artistic exchange lies at the heart of SOLSTICE. It is driven less by the pursuit of fame or commercial success than by the simple belief that creativity grows through generosity, dialogue and the beauty of shared ideas.