Exhibition “Par[ad]is Perdu” in Paris
The exhibition is divided into two series structured around a shared theme of the journey. A journey through the metro echoes another journey, death.
The first series presented, “Blessures de guerre” (2016), features dreamlike figures struck by the attacks of November 13, 2015. Whether they appear released into a celestial ether or frozen within bullet-ridden stone, they all bear witness to a wounded city, carrying within their bodies, transparently, the physical scars of an ideological war.
“Le Spleen de Paris” (2017–2018), the second series in the exhibition, presented here exclusively, distinguishes itself through its dialogue with reality. Mirial photographs strangers in the Parisian metro then brings them back into his own universe, shifting his practice from posed bodies to stolen ones. A first for the artist. From this abyss of souls, sad, empty, or absorbed, emerges the full sensitive beauty of this work.
The overall composition is unique: interchangeable panels made of assembled metro cars. When placed end to end, form a single work stretching nearly eight meters.
Exhibition from April 11 to 25, 2018
Mark Hachem Gallery
28 Place des Vosges – 75003 Paris
www.markhachem.com