In a world of screens, what place for the old-fashioned charms of mechanical entertainment? Actually, quite a big place, if you look at how the provincial city of Nantes has used a large park-cum-gallery of wacky contraptions to put itself on the global tourist trail and also deliver some local cultural and educational value to boot.

In doing so, it provides a provocation for us to realize that screens need content and people’s minds and bodies like to be exercised. Even if most of the encounters with this project may be through social media likes, the reality of ingenious mechanical elephants and giant metal herons, along with all the rest of the weird menagerie and other contraptions, is to say that creativity can do special wonders when it reshapes the world, rather than just the image of the world.

In this very original twist on something that has echoes of 19th century fairgrounds, we might see a spur to do a lot more with the “ambient and experiential” media. It’s an inspiration of sorts for brands – and many other locations seeking to reboot themselves – to think bigger. Entertainment parks and rides are not just for Disney or Lego.

Tickets for Les Machines De L’île are available from their website.