gallery

Territoires
[Territories]
1990 - 91

Unlike Cartesianism, which breaks down, classifies and isolates objects to understand them, primitive thought is holistic. Framing a detail or shedding light on it without taking it out of the whole picture, the holistic look preserves the complexity and enormousness of the world. Inevitably, it humbles down the importance of Humanity.

The “Petits poèmes de la promeneuse solitaire” (or “Little Poems of the Solitary Walker”) can be seen as a nod to either Rousseau or Junger. During nature walks, the artist retraces the footsteps of children and poets, lingering over small things and learning how to marvel at them. Instead of picking up the knick-knacks that intrigued her, Dominique Laquerre, like an enthusiastic archeologist, cast their impression in plaster in order to turn them into the “little poem of the day” once back to her workshop. Thus an egg, a bone, a wood knot or the crevasses of a clayey ground become a work of art. Charcoal or sanguine is then used to draw on the plaster. As for the “Appareils de mise en lumière” (the “Light-shedding Devices”), they are allegories of the look that brought these little poems to life. Going against the traditional use of a pedestal in sculpture, a copper funnel directs the attention to the ground and focuses light to illuminate a detail of grass, dead leaves or pebbles.

Translated by François Couture