Les yeux dans l'eau
The Eyes in Water
Installation consisting of twelve framed inkjet prints, spoken word on car speakers, car radio, battery, variable dimensions, audio: 12' 3'', 2019
Voice: Rosa Renom
Recording, mixing and mastering: Daniel Moreno Roldán
Two bridges, three cars, an abandoned house, a lot of water —a lake, a river, tears, the sea—, the insistent presence of the missing ones, the fleeting absence of the ones present, intimate narratives in the shadow of great events, my own memories and rephrased confidences. With The Eyes in Water, I have dealt with the delicate question of how to evoke painful events in the lives of others, by paying attention to the echoes of the past in daily moments shared with a family and through a process of trustful appropriation.
The work was developed as part of the festival "Des artistes chez l'habitant" (Fiac, FR), which proposes to inhabitants to host artists who will produce specific works, to be exhibited in their domestic space. The installation was presented in the garage, an overlooked space within the house and yet a deeply private one, as the accumulation of objects may convey some untold family stories. The photographs, framed in different ways, are placed among the stacked furniture and cardboard boxes. Some of the images refer to details of the spoken text, others allude toward undisclosed narratives. The sound piece is broadcast by car radio speakers connected to a battery, all placed on the grid of the drain tank. This autonomous DIY device highlights the absence of the car in the filled-up garage and echoes its ghostly presence in the three stories. While being carried by the voice that inhabits the space, the visitor's gaze settles as much on the photographs as on the family's personal objects, in search of possible correlations. The project thus emphasizes a certain voyeurism intrinsic to the concept of the festival but also the indicial nature of the work itself.
Exhibition views: Festival "Des artistes chez l'habitant" (Fiac, FR), edition "Histoire(s)", curated by Antoine Marchand (Centre d'art Le Lait, Albi). Photos by Adrian Schindler.