Twin towns since 2000, Laval and Nice apparently have nothing in common. Yet here they are united in the face of planetary extinction thanks to contemporary art — and the friendship of Jasmine Colizza and Hélène Fincker, who signed Eternity, if possible. The exhibition tinged with hope brings together four artists from Quebec and four from France at the Alfred-Pellan room, after their visit to the Côte d’Azur.
“ Hello World »: these words of kindness, a priori universal, are intended to be reassuring. In the IT field with which he is associated, this hello to the world is synonymous with success. And optimism, reason why Églé Vismanté takes it back to the heart of Hello Worlda photosensitive image (anthotype) printed on fabric.
“The particularity of this type of printing,” she says, “is that it self-destructs with light. This work will disappear, and we will find ourselves with a white flag, which will mean… or nothing, or peace. »
But then, is eternity possible? We discussed it with a group gathered in the courtyard of the Maison des arts de Laval, half of the artists in the exhibition (Tom Barbagli, Mathieu Latulippe, Églé Vismanté, the duo Pierre&Marie) and Jasmine Colizza, artistic director at Alfred -Pellan.
“Thinking in the long term or in the short term, that’s the whole question today,” believes Tom Barbagli, for whom duration is a variable data, impossible to define. His clock installation The time of stones does everything except tell the time.
“Undemonstrable thing” for Mathieu Latulippe, eternity remains a trap as long as the dream of immortality persists. “It’s an illusion that we create for ourselves, with reassuring fictions. Like with cigarettes: you know it’s dangerous, but you don’t change anything,” says the man who designed a survivalist bunker for golf enthusiasts.
“We can’t imagine this purpose. Scientists are sending us signals, and it is extremely difficult to make a change,” underlines Marie-Pier Lebeau, of Pierre&Marie. The works in the exhibition border on disaster scenarios, such as the destruction of cathedrals painted and filmed by Martin Bureau or the (false) artifacts of nuclear explosions in Aurélien Mauplot’s installation.
“The big companies that continue to siphon [nos ressources] create a kind of after-me-the-deluge,” laments Mathieu Latulippe. Her JunGolf Monoplex evokes the paradox of playing golf in times of environmental precarity. “It’s midnight and one at Mathieu’s house,” according to Jasmine Colizza.
Most of the fiction of Eternity, if possible are based less on the irreparable denial evoked by Latulippe than on a slim hope of saving reasoning. “We’re super optimistic, the rest of us,” proclaims the feminine voice of Pierre&Marie. A bright end of the worlda neon work which describes the three lives of a candle, plays on seduction. “We try to find a balance between pointing out our failings, our excesses, and claiming wonder. We resist through joy. »
Églé Vismanté seeks to find “moments of poetry or optimism, something beautiful in the rubble”. Besides its Hello Worldshe offers a video taken from her visit to a village in the Alps devastated in 2020 by the storm Alex. “The video is an acceptance of drama and, at the same time, a desire to enchant, despite everything. »
“Wonder,” continues Tom Barbagli, “leads to happiness, and happiness can only lead to a certain wisdom. wisdom, [c’est empêcher] that fear and negative emotions lead us towards fatalism. »
Can art nevertheless help? If the title of the exhibition fabulates, the artists are aware of their limits. “We raise questions, we don’t have the answers,” admits Pierre de Pierre&Marie. We educate people to see beyond their little selves. »
For Tom Barbagli, art is an “opening to the imagination” and allows “everyone to bounce back”. “An artist is one voice among others,” notes Églé Vismanté. The change [ne viendra pas] of a single artist, or of a single scientist, but of the mass of ideas. If we can contribute, that’s good. »
The works target a situation, a crisis. Natural capitala large curtain-landscape by Pierre&Marie, denounces the economic system in which forests are only valued by the quantity of wood cut. “Researchers are looking into the value that [une forêt] if we did not cut it, in terms of carbon capture, biodiversity, pollination and even beauty,” summarizes Marie-Pier Lebeau.
The bell that rings in the exhibition room comes from Tom Barbagli’s fake clock. The pendulum has stones, the hands don’t turn right — fortunately. “The clock continues to tick, but in both directions,” says the one who establishes an eternal beginning. “We have to start a cycle again and put one foot in front of the other, correctly. »
Then, perhaps, eternity will be possible.