I entered another room, where I was invited to lay down on a big trembling soundbox and to look up at the ceiling at planes tracks. It was quite frightening but the vibration of the speakers under me was calming me down. Nicolas Moulin is an artist who likes to manipulate photos and takes away all human life from them. And it is the emptiness of the screen that was relaxing… cleared by the usual human crowd.

Nicolas Moulin, Aviafluenza, 2005

A week later, on my 2nd visit, I really sensed the exhibition and the artworks. Discovering artists such as Mircea Cantor, and its ‘Landscape is changing’ playing on our perception of what encircles us by using mirror thus making us pay attention of our surroundings; Wang Du who was presenting a piece made of used international newspapers.

Wand Du, Luxe populaire, 2001

Let’s mention Laurent Grasso showing a smoke cloud investing the streets of Paris and questioning us on the 09/11, the pollution and other contemporary topics; Olivier Babin’s contribution features a painting and a collection of very “refreshing” sculptures inspired by the shape of the watermelon…

Fabien Verschaere, Once Upon No Time, 2005. A Novel for Life

I kept my favourite piece of all to conclude… the Fabien Verschaere’s magic house… there’s a red hole, lighted, attracting your eyes and you think ‘what on earth is inside this dolly house’? So obviously you enter… and you discover a whole world of creatures, reminding you of the stories told by your mum before going to sleep… except that if you take a good look, closer, and closer, you see there’s not much place for innocence in this ‘magic’ house – and it is as if your 2nd look takes you to an ‘evil’ sort of world. But of course it is up to you to decide… and that is maybe what all this exhibition is all about?

Choosing whether or not their story can be ‘Notre Histoire…’

Notre Histoire…
Date: January 21st – May 7th, 2006
Place: Palais de Tokyo
Address: 13 Avenue de President Wilson, 75116 Paris
Tel: +33 (0)1 8169 7751
https://www.palaisdetokyo.com