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When I was a child I used to spend hours contemplating a globe. It belonged to my father, I inherited it, it has yellowed a bit. It is similar to all those that are mass-produced for a reasonable price, with a 23°27 inclination. In order to explain that the sun is at the centre of the solar system, science has put us in its place, turning us into erudite stars. The earth’s inclination is invariably 23°27 and our eyes wander across a surface whose summit is the North Pole. In the past, only the very rich could afford such objects, but they were then very different from those you can find today. They were built inside two revolving circles. The vision of the earth that they proposed could vary : it could revolve in the direction one chose, be orientated according to one’s wishes, there was no question of becoming either the sun or the moon. Faced with such a luxury article, one was necessarily a rich and learned human being. And that was that. The earth was on the table : I was on a chair. At a very early age, I was able to contemplate the Southern Hemisphere. I could read Zanzibar as if I were on the spot. According to science, I was necessarily in winter. Later on, when my eyes reached the equator, .I could imagine that I was the moon .
Sabine Réthoré lives and works in Sète ( France) | ||||
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