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Jusqu’au Bout du Monde is a sculpture representing the artist Fabien Mérelle carrying his own daughter on his shoulders. The work appeared in Le Havre for the first time in 2018; after being damaged by fire in 2020, a large inclusive collection allowed its reconstruction, this new version now being installed on the Augustin Normand seawall.
The two characters observe, from their 6.24m height, the maritime horizon and the ships that cross it. Via an imaginary line, they also look towards New York, formerly linked to Le Havre by the Transatlantic line. A reminder of the past that resonates particularly in the family history of the artist, and in those of so many other people from Le Havre. But this sculpture also testifies to filiation, to the love of a father supporting his daughter until she can follow her own path.
"Everyone will see in this sculpture what they want, and that's fine.
I see in it, for my part, the strength of the bond, the one that pushes parents to get up every morning to try to give the best to their little ones.
This simple movement of placing them on our shoulders to help them see what we struggle to make out ourselves.
Raising them in the literal and figurative sense of the term.
Encouraging them to look beyond, not just feed them the view from the ground.
And in a port, welcoming those who arrive, supporting those who leave.
It's an exclamation mark, a totem, at the end of a seawall, two faces turned to the elements, facing the ocean, the never identical scenery their eyes look across.” Fabien Mérelle
