Below Victory: Revealing a Buried Past and Present

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, a creative and technical team used an emerging geological sensor technology to scan the subterranean landscape under a historic plaza in central France, originally the site of a Roman temple buried since Antiquity. This paper will present the resulting trans-disciplinary project that included artists, programmers, designers, archaeologists, geologists, academics, historians, cultural leaders and government agencies all working together to create a series of media works based on what has been hidden in the heart of Clermont-Ferrand for 2,000 years. Ground Penetrating Radar reveals through echo and its haunting visualizations were core to the foundational data used in the artworks but also its theme and metaphor. With the collected data, the team created a site-specific collage of trompe l’oeil anti-sculpture, virtual experiences, films, prints and performances. Place de la Victoire, a cultural heritage landmark, became the source and site of an inverted public experience for inverted times.