From December 10, 2025, to September 20, 2026, the Mucem is dedicating an exhibition to the strange fate of Ferdinandea, the volcanic island that appeared and then vanished in 1832 off the coast of Sicily. This grand project is imagined by artist and philosopher Clément Cogitore, who, through around forty works and archives (16mm films, videos, photos, graphic arts, paintings, and scientific documents, including seven artworks by the artist, never before displayed in France and recently acquired by the Mucem), recounts the brief existence of this land that emerged from the sea and speculates on its possible re-emergence. Facing the Mediterranean, visitors will discover a story where reality mingles with myths, popular beliefs, premonitions, sciences, and geopolitics, and where this phantom island becomes a mirror reflecting our relationship with the world and possible futures.
The Story of a Fleeting Island
Between the end of June and mid-July 1832, the underwater volcanic activity in the Sicilian Channel, facing Tunisia, triggered a phenomenon that...
An unexpected event: the birth of a new island in the middle of the Mediterranean. Sailors and locals saw it as a monstrous message sent from the sky, while scientists and researchers of the time found great interest in observing it. At the same time, the expanding European powers discovered a new strategic location. This sparked a competition among nations between Great Britain, France, and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, which, however, was very short-lived. And for good reason: just six months after its appearance, the island sank back into the Mediterranean Sea, swept away by the waves.
« Île Giulia appeared on July 18, 1831 », plate IV extracted from Moderno Buffon, Italy, 1860. Lithograph on paper, 15 × 23 cm. Central Library of the National Museum of Natural History, Paris, IC KR 366 ©National Museum of Natural History, Paris
The fascinating story of an island that lies just a few meters beneath the surface, carrying multiple names due to its allure. Named Ferdinandea by the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies – in honor of King Ferdinand II of Bourbon – or Julia by the French – referencing the July Monarchy – it is now closely monitored by seismologists. Because who knows, perhaps one day, a new eruption could make it resurface, sparking the same geopolitical flurry it once did.
Clément Cogitore, the journey of a philosopher artist
Artist, filmmaker, and philosopher, Clément Cogitore lives and works between Paris and Berlin. After studying at the École Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs in Strasbourg and at Fresnoy – Studio National des Arts Contemporains, he develops a practice at the intersection of contemporary art and cinema. Blending films, videos, installations, and photographs, his work questions the ways in which humans coexist with their images. His work is exhibited and presented in prestigious French and international institutions, at biennials, and in both public and private collections.
Today, the artist is recognized internationally. He was awarded the Grand Prix of the Salon de Montrouge in 2011, and then became a resident at the prestigious Académie de France à Rome – Villa Médicis in 2012. His first feature film, Neither Heaven nor Earth, selected for the Critics' Week at Cannes, was awarded the Gan Foundation Prize and nominated for the César Award for Best First Film in 2015. That same year,He received the BAL Prize for young creation.
Portrait of Clément Cogitore © Kenza Wadimoff
In 2016, he received the Sciences Po Prize for contemporary art and the Ricard Corporate Foundation Prize for contemporary art, followed by the Marcel Duchamp Prize in 2018. After a highly acclaimed short film based on the opera, Les Indes galantes by Rameau, he staged it at the Paris Opera in 2019. This project was highlighted in the New York Times in their list of the ten best operas of the year, nominated for best opera production by the Giornale della Musica, won the Forum Opéra award for best production in 2019, and received the award for best staging in 2020 at the Oper! Awards. In 2022, his second feature film, Goutte d’Or, was selected for the Critics' Week at Cannes, awarded the Hildegarde Screenplay Prize, and recognized as the Best Director.;screening at LEFFEST in Lisbon and the award for best performance at the Hainan film festival. In 2023, the film is shortlisted to represent France at the Oscars.
Ferdinandea as seen by Clément Cogitore
It was during a stroll through a used bookstore in Palermo that Clément Cogitore discovered the fascinating story of the island. Stumbling upon the book by Salvatore Mazzarella, Dell’isola Ferdinandea e di altre cose, a quest lasting more than a year and a half, carried out at the Madre, Museum of Contemporary Art Donnaregina in Naples, began to take shape in the artist's mind. It is in this museum that an exhibition centered around Ferdinandea will come to life in the summer of 2022, featuring a wide array of artworks and unveiled archives.
Three years later, his work is finding its home in another major port of the Mediterranean: Marseille. Facing the sea, in the heart of the 320 m² Georges Henri Rivière building of Mucem Fort Saint-Jean, the exhibition Clement Cogitore: Ferdinandea, the storytelling of a ghost island is on display.
Ephemeral Leaks benefits from the loan ofnew archives, a unique scenography, and an enhanced exhibition catalog. The seven works by the artist, displayed for the
first time in France, have recently been acquired by the Marseille museum.
This entry into the collections is at the heart of the scientific and cultural project of Mucem, the first museum dedicated to the cultures of Europe and the Mediterranean, allowing it to enrich its contemporary heritage. The acquisition resonates with the permanent exhibition Mediterranean: Inventions and Representations, which explores how the Mediterranean space has been conceived, represented, and studied by European art and ethnology museums since the late 18th century, particularly in relation to colonial conquests. With Ferdinandea, Clément Cogitore offers an artistic and contemporary perspective that enhances the r&eacPost-colonial and decolonial reflection of the Mucem on the history of science and its collections.
Clément Cogitore. Ferdinandea: Vigilances, 2022. 4K video (still), color, 13 min 27 s. Mucem, Marseille © Clément Cogitore
The exhibition speculates on the emergence, fall, and potential re-emergence of the volcano through a variety of films, videos, and both documentary and fictional photographs, bringing together popular beliefs, archival documents, scientific surveys, and maps. As you explore the pieces, Ferdinandea becomes a mirror reflecting different relationships to the world and possible futures. It presents a mix of utopia and dystopia submerged beneath the waters, revealing political and imperial questions that remain relevant today. This reflection continues even after exiting the exhibition, with your gaze set on the Mediterranean as the sole horizon and a fabulous conclusion.
To kick off this exhibition in style, Mucem is hosting open doors on the 10th.
December from 4 PM to 9 PM, in the heart of the Georges Henri Rivière building at Fort Saint-Jean. The exhibition will be free to access, accompanied by music and a small catering space signed by Café du Fort. Flash tours are also offered by curators Kathryn Weir, Helia Paukner, and Enguerrand Lascols, with introduction sessions at 4 PM, 5 PM, and 7:30 PM. The extra treat? Between 6 PM and 7 PM, you can meet Clément Cogitore in person, who will be waiting for you in the depot square room to dive deeper into his works and journey, alongside the exhibition curators. This is also a great opportunity to get the exhibition catalog, a co-publication by Mucem and Atelier EXB, featuring texts by Tristan Garcia (including an unpublished piece by the author), Enguerrand Lascols, Hélia Paukner, and Kathryn Weir.Clément Cogitore: Ferdinandea, the ephemeral island
Mucem Fort Saint-Jean
7, promenade Robert Laffont (esplanade du J4, Gisèle Halimi) 13002 Marseille
From December 10...From December 2025 to September 20, 2026
Open house on December 10, 2025, from 4 PM to 9 PM
More info and tickets
