Art and science challenge misconceptions

Researchers and artists have collaborated to create "la supérette des idées reçues," an installation designed to challenge common misconceptions using scientific arguments. The project takes the form of a realistic supermarket filled with products that question widely held but often unfounded beliefs.

A supermarket of ideas

The installation, temporarily set up in Aix-en-Provence, mimics a typical supermarket with its colored aisles and eye-catching product packaging. However, instead of selling actual goods, it presents items that challenge public misconceptions through creative and thought-provoking means.

Interactive experience

Visitors are greeted by a mediator who explains the purpose of the installation. While they cannot purchase any items, they can explore about thirty invented products, each designed to address or reinterpret common misconceptions. These products are not meant for consumption but for reflection and discussion.

Challenging common beliefs

One of the products on display is "Fake roast," a bag of coffee that challenges prejudices around immigration. The label reads that migration across the Mediterranean is a natural and ancestral phenomenon, suggesting that without such movement, people would not have access to coffee in their Western cups. This approach uses everyday objects to provoke critical thinking about complex social issues.