Posted on 11 June 2025
On the heights of La Roche-sur-Yon, between wild nature and converted wasteland, a new symbolic landmark has risen: the Shepherd of the CouxThis wooden giant, installed on the Coux site, marks the beginning of a unique artistic journey in the heart of the Yon Valley.
A project to promote tourism in the Yon Valley
As part of the promotion of the Yon Valley, La Roche-sur-Yon agglomeration entrusted the
care to Destination La Roche-sur-Yon to initiate an artistic journey in the heart of nature, connecting the
sources of the Yon at the Chaos du Piquet. This project aims to reveal natural riches, landscaped and
cultural heritage of the valley through an original and immersive narrative.
The giant sculptures will become symbolic landmarks, encouraging walking, contemplation and discovery of the region in a spirit of sustainable, cultural and environmentally sensitive tourism.
The Berger des Coux and the MONsTR collective
The Berger des Coux is much more than a sculpture. Behind this impressive work, we find the MONsTR collective, based in Nantes. Founded in 2011, MONsTR is a collective of artists, designers and builders. Their approach: to explore what man and nature can produce together.
By observing the characteristics of a place, MONsTR engages in a sensitive dialogue between the sculptor and the material, like two living entities involved in the same artistic process.
In the tradition of figurative sculpture, their work is expressed in heritage sites, public spaces, or natural spaces. The collective creates works to experience, to explore, to handle : walkable sculptures, play areas, landscaping or scenography.
Le Berger des Coux fully embodies this artistic vision: a rooted work, which questions our relationship to the territory and celebrates the links between humans, memory and living things.
It is part of the project of Giants of the Yon Valley, an artistic journey linking the sources of the Yon to the Chaos du Piquet. Through this initiative, La Roche-sur-Yon Agglomeration aims to promote nature, the landscape and local memory through spectacular, poetic and profoundly human creations.
This first giant, with the appearance of a peaceful guardian, symbolizes the nourishing force of the earth, biodiversity, and the connection between residents and their environment. Built using traditional craft techniques, it is also a refuge for birds, insects and small mammals.
A collective, social and participatory work
The originality of the project also lies in the way in which it was made with and for the inhabitantsThe MONsTR collective has imagined a inclusive approach : Personalized people far from employment participated in the construction of the giant's wooden decking and cladding, via a construction site-school supervised by professionals.
In schools, children made birdhouses which today adorn the Shepherd's coat. The materials used are local, and traditional know-how (mortise and tenon joints, wooden cladding) highlight the artisanal heritage of the region.
A strong symbol of sustainable tourism
By integrating into a rehabilitated natural space, the Berger des Coux invites you to strolling, contemplation and reconnection with the livingIts location - between the Vallée Verte and the Étang des Coux - offers a unique panorama of the city and encourages a gentle and sensitive discovery of the territory, faithful to the spirit of slow tourism.
This giant is a call to dream, an artistic and ecological signal in a landscape undergoing complete reconversion.
The Berger des Coux is only the first in a series of giants. Other figures will soon watch over the valley, embodying in turn memory, transmission, and the link between man and nature...