Contextual Installation in Nantes, France

Compiled by Team IAnD

Photography: Courtesy of Galerie Patricia Dorfmann - Paris

 

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Baptiste Debombourg’s large aerial sculpture - public art statement in Nantes, France, is yet another instance of unorthodox musings, such as placing work in unexpected contexts or using destructive techniques...

French contemporary artist, Baptiste Debombourg’s work takes the real world and morphs it into something new. He reacts to specific contexts and transmutes different substances like an alchemist: Styrofoam packing materials are transformed into neo-Gothic altars… unusual materials such as cigarette butts are combined with staples with a sense of absurdity and forthright opinions… his extraordinary output repeatedly illustrating his attraction to creating work in unorthodox ways, where the more something is forbidden the more he feels drawn to doing it by taking risks. However the notion of “beauty” in the nonsensical is very important in Baptiste’s work, where we tend to find beauty in the least likely places. 

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As part of the cultural promotion of Nantes - an event organised every summer, the installation ‘Le Voyage à Nantes’ is inspired from an artwork that Robert Delaunay made for the “Palais de l’Air” during the Paris World’s Fair in 1937. In it, the artist put man back in his place as an integral part of his environment, subjected to its laws. Here too, Baptiste observes and incorporates the essence of the Place du Bouffay and the great presence of outdoor cafés and restaurants in the installation. 

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As the outdoor patio is synonymous with socializing, the chair composing it can be seen as representative of a person. The artist plays with this presence by creating a large aerial sculpture that contradicts the gravity of everyone anchored to the ground. In a dialogue with the volume of the public square and the height of the buildings, two ellipses of chairs rise up into the air, meet, and then separate. 

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The installation uses 1200 chairs in 6 colours and measures 25 x 15 x 11 m. It has been realized with the support of Atlantic beverages partner services and will be on till Aug.30, 2015. Onlookers are strictly advised NOT to climb on the sculpture.

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Finding inspiration from everyday life, Baptiste’s work is characteristic of objects and materials that are ubiquitous and familiar but that are transformed in a new way.  Aside from the physical properties of materials, he tends to be interested in items and materials that provoke in some way. The process of destruction is a recurring theme in Baptiste’s work.