In the temporary exhibition room of the Gajac museum, in Villeneuve-sur-Lot, the walls are currently almost bare. Only three monumental canvases, damaged by time and taken out of storage after many years of seclusion, are hung there. In front of it, deckchairs have been installed, inviting future visitors to come and admire them. But they are destined to meet a disastrous fate, that of being drowned in the waters of the Lot.
This original artistic project is being installed by Gauthier Roumagne, Villeneuvois creator of mappings. He has already passed through the walls of Gajac twice, notably during the 760th anniversary of the bastide. At the start of January 2025, another of his video works will be visible for two months at the museum in which Gauthier Roumagne has decided nothing more, nothing less, to immerse Gajac in the Lot. It will be called “Drift”.
Ecological aesthetics
“I hope to immerse the visitor in an apocalyptic future for five to six minutes, in an abandoned museum where nature is reclaiming its rights,” explains Gauthier Roumagne. There is of course an ecological sense. But what is important to me is the aesthetic and graphic aspect of my creation. The project was originally born because I was interested in fluid mechanics. »
The idea was born six months ago on a proposal from the City: “The images were already there. I had already worked on a similar project. I had to adapt it to this new place. It took me more than a month of work. » Not to mention last minute adjustments.
Just before returning to his hometown, Gauthier Roumagne signed a creation around photosynthesis, projected on the walls of Riyadh, in Saudi Arabia “a work which took me many months and which earned me many sleepless nights…” After “Dérive”, Gauthier Roumagne will take an artistic break to go outdoors, in the countryside.
“Drift” from Monday January 6 to Friday February 28. Opening Friday January 10 at 6 p.m.
