Last week, a defacement and an attempted defacement targeted an exhibition at the Maison de la culture d’Amiens, whose works are the work of arts students from the city. Faced with these acts, the latter are mobilizing to defend an art that provokes a reaction.
The exhibition is called Rally the rustlings. Behind this murmur of the title, several months of work by students in the plastic arts research sector at the Université Picardie Jules-Verne (UPJV) around a book, The wisdom of lianas.
Each student was invited to draw a work of art representing their interpretation of the work. A work around identity and its construction, exhibited until Friday April 26 at the Maison de la culture d’Amiens (MCA).
It is primarily about the work Jeddah that a deterioration was noticed by its creator during the second week of exhibition. The work is an installation of a veil and jewelry, a video is projected through the veil, it is a reflection by the artist on his origins.
“The video cable was cut and the jewelry wires were cut, the pieces fell to the grounddetails Clara Bauchy, master of art student at the UPJV. It was very thorough, it was done during visiting hours. Giving the benefit of the doubt, the artist re-linked the jewelry, while warning of possible damage. Last Thursday (editor’s note: April 18), once again, the jewels were placed on the ground and the veil moved. This reinforces the fact that this is not an accident.“
The comrades of the creator of this work, defaced twice, placed small objects around it to show their support for their comrade.
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© Clara Bauchy
“You have to get closer to touch the work, so there is a deliberate desire to degrade itagrees Eric Valette, director of the UFR of arts at the UPJV. This is the first time in ten years that this has happened.“
In reaction to the second degradation, the designer’s comrades mobilized. “We decided to make a political occupation of the space around this work, by coming physically or by dropping off objects in support of the artist, the work or the exhibition in its own right.” indicates Clara Bauchy. They therefore met at the MCA on Saturday April 20 and witnessed a new attempt at damage, this time on another work.
While they are gathered around the work Jeddah, the students hear loud voices. An altercation takes place in another area of the MCA between one of the guards and a man who took down a photo exhibited as part of the same exhibition. It is part of a set of four photos representing a naked man covered with colored spots in a setting with the same motifs.
The man who took the photo was accompanied by another individual, he was allegedly insulting and tried to hit the guard. He and his companion fled before the police arrived.
It is a clear-cut, targeted and political attack.
Eric ValetteDirector of the UFR of arts – UPJV
“We will file a complaint for attempted theft or damage to a work of artindicates Laurent Dréano, director of the Maison de la culture d’Amiens. For me, what is important is to remember that, whatever the work, the law protects creative freedom. They risk two years of imprisonment and a €30,000 fine; we are in a country that protects creation.” Laurent Dréano indicates, however, that such acts are extremely rare. The individuals in question would have spotted the photo from the street, then returned specifically to take it down.
“It was much more impulsive than the first degradations, we think that it is not linkedspecifies Clara Bauchy. The individual hit the security guard in the face, the police were contacted, but he had already left, the police were only contacted in the context of this attack.“
“The theme Connect the rustles made the students work in a fine and poetic way, so we are touchedadds Eric Valette. It is a characterized, targeted and political aggression.” The university would consider filing a complaint in turn. Eric Valette assured his support to the students, whatever form of reaction they wish to put in place.
“At first, I was very angry, revolted that this was happening to usremembers Clara Bauchy. I’ve been at university for four years and we’ve been encouraged to do this kind of work. By talking with other people, I realize that I am proud of what happens, because the works make people talk, think, react. Of course, we only see the reactions that are negative, but there are perhaps positive ones too.“
“This is the first time that there have been reactions of this order, these societal and colonial questions are therefore at the heart of the news, these are necessary themes that must be addressed” she concludes. The sittings and deposits of objects around the works are continuing this week, despite the holidays and until the organization of a symbolic action to mark the end of this eventful exhibition.
“It is all the more shocking since the targeted works are those of first-year students, who are at the very beginning of their training. What does society send back to them? Stupidity, ignorance, behavior from another eralaments Laurent Dréano. It is the training work of young people who are destined for an artistic career, who are all the more vulnerable.“He indicates that he and his team wish to support these young creators in the face of these events that he finds”a little traumatic“.
The students are also curators of this exhibition, so they decided to offer their own reaction to the events for the finishing of the exhibition. A collective reading will be organized by the students on Friday April 26 at 5 p.m., to invite the public and participants to reflect on the roles of art and its relationship to society. The exhibition will remain open during the weekend, before being taken down on Monday April 29.
