picture : in Gesves, Belgium

Imagetitre_v002-1422462235

WHY ?

I chose to work upon this topic, caravans on the move, first of all because I've always been fascinated by their beauty : thin Lifelines through the desert void, fragile yet resilient, noble and daring. To begin with, I drew inspiration from nomadic peoples, Tuaregs, Amerindians, Mongols, but subsequently the work has evolved and deals now mostly with the human pilgrimage without reference to a particular civilisation or era. Its aim is to underline the extraordinary beauty of our fragile and unique wandering.

A travelling caravan is an allegory of our adventure, we the children of Mother Earth . Its survival, like our own, depends on mutual goodwill between its members as well as the proper use of its limited resources. We seem to me to be fortunate to live through a exhilarating « key epoch » of History, of our story. Consequently, it is essential for us to get along well and to be properly organized, otherwise... ? Current news stories, highlighting wether the prowling winds of war and violence or those of economic, social or ecological miseries all serve to confirm the urgency of this call.

By supporting this project, YOU can decide to help this voice be heard, this appeal be seen.

DESCRIPTION .

picture: "the Guide" and myself.

Img_8919-1422617747

Two camels on the « pétanque » of St Paul de Vence

St_paul_v001-1422463382

This sculpture will then figure, along at least a good 100 meters, life size, the advance of a caravan, a crowd travelling along with its goods, vehicles and pack animals. To that linear column a few artistic elements will be added, quoting Goya, Dali, Dürer, Cervantes... As pictures of previous realizations do show, it is built with branches and vines, strongly anchored to the ground. It certainly isn't everlasting - like us - weather and time will wear it out, but experience proves it should last for monthes and will be still standing in the summer of 2016.

video : the pass of Tende and its fort

For its sixth bivouac the idea is to construct it at the top of pass of Tende which for centuries has been a natural border between Italy & France, finally pacified in the course of the european history. It is thus a perfect and symbolic spot to express the inner meaning of the Caravan : the nearby fort, built to divide peoples, is brutal, massive, useless ; in contrast the Caravan will be light and flowing, a physical and cultural link between peoples. Aesthetically, high on this ridge almost 2 000 meters high, the work will clearly stand out against the sky, positioned so that it can easily be viewed as a single entity.

It will be a point of interest and convergence for the visitors of both sides, Tende and the Roya valley & Limone and the Vermenagna valley, espacially as, since it is reachable by car, it is already a much frequented place. The mayors of both sides have approved the project.

I see this work as handsome and meaningful. Altogether it is artistic, ecological and loaded with a strong significance.

PREVIOUS INSTALLATIONS.

Somehow it is my « fétish » work. The caravan journeying by definition from one bivouac to the next, it has already travelled a long way. Apart from installing it many times on a limited scale, either outside or within art galleries or shopping malls, I've also had the opportunity to make five full-scale installations of this work, that's to say over 100 meters long, on each occasion it evolved, both in shape and spirit.

video : at the château d'O, Montpellier

It has thus been :Tuareg for a theater festival in the park of the « château d'O » in Montpellier.

Advancing futuristically in the Futuroscope, the amusement park near Poitiers.

Standing alone between fields of wheat and rapeseed in Gesves near Namur, Belgium, for the symposium « la fête de mai ».

It migrated to the church of Châtel Montagne, Allier, for another symposium.

Its fifth bivouac, was at the northern end of the Baltic sea for for the Lulea° Fine Arts Biennale.

I also tried to take it to Belfast at the time of the tragic events there. Passing through the fence from one side to the other it would have been charged with meaning. Alas, distance, lack of contacts and means (Kisskissbankbank didn't exist !) made it impossible for me to achieve.

This theme has also taken shape on a small scale as china ink sketchings or wire sculptures on wooden stands

sketch

Croquis_crvn__ligne01_v001-1422463466

La CARAVANE, l'Aventure humaine