in Dax, “land baptisms” for the Têtes en l’air festival

HAS knees. Hands clasped. Sasha, 18, covers her face with oil. She is preparing to experience her “baptism on earth”. She takes a deep breath and dips her head into the clay. Behind, Fred Martin, visual artist, presses the young girl's face into the material. A few seconds pass. Then she raises her head, her gaze a little stunned. “Depending on the bins, it tastes like banana or apple,” he jokes.

Like her, the Dacquois “lent” their faces to the artist and the Lez'arts company around, from January 14 to 19, 2025. The Atrium exhibition gallery, in Dax, was transformed into a place of rites. Or at least, that's what this artist from Lille tried to do. “I have the impression that in our society, we no longer experience rites. In Asia or Africa, there are always moments to celebrate the transitions to different stages of life. »

Each individual, dressed in a blouse, reproduces the same gestures. Then finds himself cleaning himself, before observing, with a certain joy, the imprint of his face. For twenty-five years, Fred Martin, who studied Fine Arts, has taken pleasure in leaving “an imprint of his body” in different places. “There is a form of marriage with the material,” he smiles.

Inventor of these “earth baptisms”, this process allowed him to travel around the world to introduce others to this “strange atmosphere” and this desire to “reveal the imprint of time”.

Fresh and sweet

Aurélia was keen to participate in this moment with her children. “It allows you to leave a mark. To participate in a project from the inside. When we immerse our face, the feeling is pleasant. It's fresh and sweet. » A little further in the room, Alma, from the Lez'arts vers company, is busy preparing the plaster which is used to freeze the expressions. As the material shapes the face, the artist doesn't have a second to lose. “I then add tow for solidification. » The setting is done in fifteen to twenty minutes. Drying can last several weeks.

These 300 faces molded during these workshops will be used during the second edition of the Têtes en l'air festival (from March 21 to 23, 2025). Upstream, a giant head 6 meters high will be built in thermal mud by the Dacquois (from March 15 to 22, in Max-Moras square). A participatory project entitled “The Odyssey”. “The residents are the driving forces behind this project. They meet and unite around it,” explains David Robichon, a member of the company since the mid-2000s.

Poetic

In the room this January 15, the head is represented at 1/10 scale. A person in the audience calls out to the artist. “Why is the face screaming?” » And Fred Martin replied: “Everyone has their own interpretation of what they are doing. For some he sings faces, for others he vomits them. » Indeed, the faces of the Dacquois will be attached to suspended cables, the origin of which will be this monumental work.

During this street show, the artists will be silent. “With this atmosphere, everyone takes ownership of what they are seeing. He can also explain it. Let's say it's conducive to contemplation. There is a poetic side,” continues David Robichon. One thing is certain, the Dacquois who lent their faces will attentively attend this moment of poetry.