2014
I had never met Solène and didn’t know her work before I had to set up an exhibition with her. At the time, she had just moved to Boulder, Colorado (USA) and I was living in Strasbourg (France).
Distance became the link between us. How to create a connection with someone you only know through the screen of a computer? Object of fantasies and dreams, the location and life of this unknown person became the center of attention. As we were getting acquainted online, and trying to figure out what the object of the show would be, I became more and more interested in the reality of her life in this place, which remained only imaginary on my end. We agreed to create works inspired by Boulder. However, without ever asking direct questions or details on her habits and itinerary, I recreated what I figured was her ritual route between her accommodation, her workplace and a place she regularly hiked to. I based my canvas only on informations she happened to mention in casual conversations, and on the possibilities of the internet. The itinerary was performed thirteen times with thread on pins on the gallery wall, to a scale of 1/5th. It was the estimated number of times where she actually walked this path, between the time of our first online contact and the day of our real life encounter at the opening of the exhibition. She wasn’t aware of the nature of my work for the show, and was surprised to find my map accurate.
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Je n’avais jamais rencontré Solène, et ne connaissais pas son travail, avant d’être amenée à réaliser une exposition avec elle. Elle venait alors de déménager à Boulder, dans le Colorado; je vivais à Strasbourg.
La distance devient le lien. Comment créer une connection avec quelqu’un que l’on ne connaît qu’à travers l’écran d’un ordinateur? Objet de rêverie et de fantasme, le lieu et le quotidien de cet inconnue deviennent le centre de l’attention. Son arrivée marque le temps de l’exposition. Utiliser les possibilités d’ internet, pour localiser la personne, essayer de reconstituer ses déplacements rituels.
L’itinéraire est réalisé treize fois, nombre estimé de ses parcours, du premier contact jusqu’au jour de la rencontre.
