The French-Swiss artist Saype (name obtained from the fusion of “say” and “peace”), pioneer of a new movement between land art and street art, is interested in fragile landscapes – social, urban, or natural –, and paints on the grass, with biodegradable paints invented by himself, made of coal, chalk, and milk proteins, huge images, carrying simple but significant messages.

The mountain – whose ecosystem is today put to the test by climate change – has always been a deeply symbolic, majestic, and ancestral place, where great risks and deep serenity are mixed, and for this reason, it has always been a source of great inspiration for artists. This year Saype has chosen Mont Blanc as the place to convey his message of respect for the environment and closeness among people, realizing in the mountain pastures overlooking the middle station of Skyway, in Courmayeur, his highest-ever ephemeral work (at 2300 meters above sea level), a grandmother with her granddaughter looking together at the mountains with wonder, a symbol of the fragility of the changing ecosystem of the Alps.

The work, entitled Une Grande Dame, extends for about 2,500 square meters on the stony pastures of Pavillon, and can be admired from the cable car certainly throughout the month of July, then it is going to disappear slowly along with the growth of grass, although the artist speculates that, given the slowness with which the grass grows in that area during the summer, the image could also remain almost throughout the whole season.

“The idea is to create intergenerational bridges. The title Une grande Dame can refer to nature, to the grandmother who represents wisdom, to the little one who symbolizes future generations, to the exceptional moment the two are experiencing, but also to the destiny of change they will encounter. This work represents immensity and beauty, but also fragility: the relationship between the two is fragile, as is the work that will disappear. Unfortunately, our mountains change very quickly and this is a unique moment,” said Saype.