L'Arroseur arrosé

L'Arroseur arrosé is a public stainless-steel sculpture installed in Lyon in 1997. Its title references one of cinema's earliest sight gags: the Lumière brothers' 1895 short film of the same name, in which a gardener is drenched by his own hose. The reference carries particular resonance in Lyon, birthplace of the Lumières and of moving pictures as a medium. The work sits modestly in the urban fabric as a small nod to that cinematic heritage, inviting passersby to make the connection rather than announcing itself loudly.