Mirages

2010 - 2013

Contributors: ATELIER VAN LIESHOUT, BLOCK ARCHITECTES, PIERRE-LAURENT CASSIÈRE, PIERRE CHARPIN, FLORENCE DOLÉAC, DIDIER FAUSTINO, ERIC JOURDAN, VINCENT KOHLER, NICOLAS MOULIN, BRUNO PEINADO, FRÉDÉRIC PRADEAU ET STÉPHANE SAUTOUR.

The value of shadow

F93 has always sought to develop an approach to Scientific and Technical Culture (CST) in places neglected by a certain tradition, as a way of cutting new ground. We know that doing something new, in our field as in any other, is not just a matter of providing new content. Sometimes the change even comes after the content and, in that case, it is what we have (or think we have) to say about it that imposes new forms. We usually start from an external constraint or a situation that can generate change. For Mirages, the mainspring was philosopher Bernadette Bendaude-Vincent's book "Se libérer de la matière? Fantasmes autour des nouvelles technologies" (Dematerialization? Fantasies about the New Technologies). Our project seeks to situate this book in the future rather than the past, because it shows how the multiple modes of thinking, feeling, remembering, fantasising, speaking, etc. result from contact with the question of materials. F93 already knew a bit about matter and materials and the way our society relates to them, if only though our experience of earlier projects or from our reading. But these issues had not found an outlet or become real interests. For years, a certain concept of matter has shown us the image of ingenious people striving to master materials. Matter was an abstract concept, the product of human exertion and operations to bend materials to our desires. In Bensaude-Vincent's book, we see a salutary reversal of this situation: what happens on the material side is also interesting. The philosopher maintains that materials are no less extraordinary than the engineers working them. Hence the possibility of a two-sided discussion with people on one side and materials on the other.

Materiality provides a unity of sorts in Mirages. Each of the materials chosen (ceramics, metals and polymers) has its own identity, which means that it can be recognised in the exhibition by the common signals emitted by the works using them. The ceramic signals do not have much to do with the metal signals, which in turn differ from polymer signals, the whole making a large number of incommensurable situations that visitors are invited to enter into. And yet we can detect coherent subsets within these situations, such as the signs of belonging to a technical field, or those related to a raw, unprocessed state, or on the contrary, indicating a degree of refinement. In the midst of this effervescence, there is nonetheless a special principle, without which the interpretation of the works in Mirages could not go beyond their apparent opacity. This is a contract passed between the ceramics, metals, polymers and Mirages's artists, designers and architects. For the creators, the three materials have ceased to be external constraints and, over time, have become ingenious and unexpected partners in the adventure. Generally speaking, we can distinguish two types of works on display: those in which the creators very quickly saw more or less where they wanted to go, and those in which anything could have happened right up to the end. But in both cases, the problem is not one of mastery, but more an astonishing compensation for mistakes made. The creators either try to choose among the unexpected possibilities, or wait until an end begins to appear and force it along by making various hypotheses. In some cases, the Mirages creators have got into the habit of taking a random stab at something, even if they make lots of mistakes, in the belief that something will always come out of it. In other cases, they have painstakingly prepared for each stage, without knowing quite why, and nonetheless made small mistakes which accumulate until they are enormous.

Although the project has taken shape by putting three materials in the creators' hands, the end result tries to shatter all these possible distinctions by a form of distance and indeterminateness. Mirages thus looks like a collection of singular objects more or less connected and related to one another, a sort of "free landscape" in which each work has value both in itself and in relation to the others. This plural presentation, corresponding to a wide range of approaches to assemblage, raises the question of how to enter this exhibition. Let us just say that it has multiple entries, without any clearly defined rules or order. So you can enter anywhere, no entry is better than another, none has privileged status. It is just a matter of seeking which other points connect with the starting point or what paths to take to join two points. This principle of multiple entries is a reminder that the exhibition is an opportunity to experiment as well as a place of interpretation.

Exhibitions:
- MIRAGES, exhibition at the Cité du Design, Saint-Etienne, 19th June 2015 – 27th March 2016.
- CLOCHE, exhibition of the work of Pierre Charpin for The Nuit Blanche, Archives Nationales, Paris, 4th oct 2014.
- MIRAGES /CÉRAMIQUES, exhibition at the Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie, Paris, 2nd March -25th April 2010.

Creations:
- Clôture, 2013, by Eric Jourdan. Flax fibre, pre-impregnated epoxy resin, autoclave curing 120°C, 420 x 420 x 110 cm.

- Cloche, 2013, by Pierre Charpin, Bronze made of 10% tin and 90% copper, metal plinth, Ø 130 cm x 160 cm.

- Sävelmän Hurmata, 2013, by Stéphane Sautour. Stratification of 3mm fibreglass with epoxy resin, sheet of pre-impregnated carbon, oven curing at 120°C, amplifier, frequency analyser, Piezo sensor. 2 spheres Ø 130 cm.

- Petit chemin plantaire, 2010, by Florence Doléac, extra white glazed porcelain, wood, steel, 384 x 80 x 98 cm.

- Filtre à eau, 2010, by Frédéric Pradeau. Porous technical ceramic, plastic tubing, diverse materials, 3 spheres Ø 62cm.

- The Naked Lunch, 2010, by Didier Fiùza Faustino, extra-white glazed porcelain, 30 x 15.5 x 20 cm.

- Burn Out, 2010, by Vincent Kohler, refractory ceramic, variable dimensions.

- SANS TITRE, INGIRUMIMUSNOCTEETCONSUMIMURIGNI, 2010, by Bruno Peinado, polychrome chamotte sandstone brick, restiads, earth, 174 x 159 x 67 cm.

- D117, 2013, Block Architectes, hydrocarbon elastomers, resin structure, Ø 560 cm x 280 cm.

- Nachinsel, 2013, by Nicolas Moulin, metal 450 x 450 x 260 cm

- Naphta Cracker, 2012, by the Atelier Van Lieshout, Metal, wood, rubber, cardboard, 550 x 370 x 480 cm.

- Distorsions, 2013, by Pierre Laurent Cassière, titanium-filmed stainless steel, oak, motors, microcontrollers, 380 x 150 x 250 cm.