Noir Dedans
group show
February 26 - May 22, 2016
For its spring exhibition devoted to young contemporary artists, Le Manoir presents Noir dedans, a group show led by Valais artist Thomas Julier. His work includes video, photography, light and sound installations. Several artists have been invited to take part in this project, with original pieces designed especially for the Manoir. The exhibition is based on the relationship between controlled artificial environments - internet, virtual life - and reality. Installations, videos, photographs, sculptures and paintings by Mitchell Anderson, Gina Folly, Rochelle Goldberg, Julian Göthe, Thomas Julier, Valerie Keane, Balthazar Lovay & Benu Zitz, Brigit Naef, Nick Oberthaler, Phil Solomon, Ian Wooldridge, and Charles-Clos Olsommer.
The starting point for this exhibition is Joris-Karl Huysmans' cult novel À rebours, published in 1884. A manifesto of the decadent spirit that took shape at the end of the 19th century, this work depicts a young aesthete afflicted by the mal du siècle. He retreats to an old manor house and surrounds himself with books, fashion accessories, furniture and objets d'art in an attempt to escape the vulgarity of modern life and boredom.
Constantly connected to our digital screens, our current way of life is more than ever like that of this fictional character. Realities and representations of reality are increasingly intertwined, and many artists are addressing this issue in their work.
The architecture of the Manoir, an old bourgeois house, is used to recreate the confined atmosphere of the novel. Seen from the angle of artifice and simulacra, the revisited spaces prefigure certain aspects of our contemporary reality, generating a new aesthetic experience.
The title Noir dedans is also a tribute to two aesthetes, Jean Cocteau and Yves Saint-Laurent. For his A/W 1984 collection, Shakespeare and the Poets, the couturier embroidered this quotation from a Cocteau poem on one of his creations: "Soleil [...], moi je suis noir dedans et rose dehors..." (Sun [...], I am black inside and pink outside...). (Poems 1920).
Une co-curation de Thomas Julier, Martin Jaeggi et Anne Jean-Richard Largey, en collaboration avec Taylor Macklin, Zurich www.taylormacklin.com
Une publication accompagne cette exposition. Book launch le jour du finissage, le dimanche 22 mai.
* Thomas Julier est né à Brigue en 1983. Il vit et travaille entre le Valais et Zurich en tant qu’artiste. Comme curateur il codirige Taylor Macklin, un project space soutenu par le Département Art&Media de la ZHdk (Zürcher Hochschule der Künste).
*Martin Jaeggi est critique, professeur et commissaire d’exposition indépendant. Il enseigne l’histoire de la photographie à la ZHdK de Zurich.
Venue: Le Manoir de la Ville de Martigny
For further information, please visit the website:
