solo exhibition, part of the Ecran total series
Le Huit, Paris, 2015
curated by Anne Bourrassé
Re- (2015-16)
neon, water, glass, wood
34 x 27 x 20 cm
installation view, Le Huit, Paris, 2015
© Claire Désérable
With the geographical and temporary distance, spaces, actions, words dissolve over time. Nuits Américaines explores the process of repetition and variations used by French author Chateaubriand in his series of ‘American Nights’. In addition to the blue experience room, the sound and video installation, the show features Hyphen an underwater neon piece, the series of Ecritures, and Nouveau Monde II.
Hyphen is a vivarium which relates to the process of writing. A « re - » of light is immersed in a glass box half-way full of water. A wooden branch holds it in place. « re - » creation, « re - » petition, or « re - » volution. The juxtaposition of the organic and the industrial with the written word enables me to approach the landscape as live matter, an evolving and revolving system.
Ecritures takes its inspiration from the inside covers of the historical books Chateaubriand in which were published his 'Nights'. I photographed the inside covers of each of the seven books (dated from 1797, 1801, 1802, 1809, 1827, 1848) in the author's library in Châtenay-Malabry, France. I assembled them two by two mixing the editions and painted the intersection between the pages.
In Nouveau Monde II, the full moon is filmed the same night from different places of the world (Paris, New York, Berlin, Tokyo, Singapore, Montreal, Bordeaux, La Rozière). The first ever taken photograph of the moon by John William Draper, 1839 and archival stereographs are also included in the video. These moons of different dimensions, intensities and textures animate the canopy of moss.
——
two video projections, screen, neon, water, branch, glass, moss, black mirror, wood, painting, c-prints, filters, fluo, texts
