One of the Machines, Le Grand Élephant

One of the Machines, Le Grand Élephant

The Machines of the Isle of Nantes (Les Machines de l'île) is an artistic, touristic and cultural project based in Nantes, France. In the old covered buildings of the former shipyards in Nantes that were at one time used for ship construction (les nefs), and later used as business sites,[1] the Machines of the Isle are created by two artists, François Delarozière (of La Machine production company) and Pierre Orefice (of Manaus association).

The projects aim to promote the city's image and intend to build an identity for it as a creative metropolis of dream and of fantasy. The site was opened to the public on 1 July 2007.
Exhibits
The Great Elephant (2007) is a mechanical elephant, 12 metres (39 ft) and 8 metres (26 ft) meters wide, made from 45 tons of wood and steel. It can take up to 49 passengers for a 45-minute walk. It is an inexact replica of The Sultan's Elephant from Royal de Luxe, which toured the world from 2005 to 2007; the main difference being that this elephant is designed to carry spectators.