Language barrier: Didier Faustino explores collective realities at Magasin
Didier Faustino explores collective realities at Magasin
- (opens in new tab)
- (opens in new tab)
- (opens in new tab)
- Sign up to our newsletter Newsletter

When Magasin, the Centre National d’Art Contemporain (opens in new tab) in Grenoble, invited Didier Faustino to fill its 1,700 sq m venue with his work, the Franco-Portuguese artist accepted, even while wondering how he’d utilise such a vast space. Enter Vortex Populi, one of two new spatial inventions, in which a chain of ubiquitous security barriers twist around each other and upward toward the ceiling. Here, they cordon off the gallery, seemingly lifted by some supernatural force. Manipulating barricades is a familiar theme for Faustino; in this case, however, the scale is more impressive and the message particularly resonates in light of the current refugee crisis. ’We are in a society where there is no strong position; we’re always compromising,’ he says. ’I’m talking about control of populations and manipulation; the individual thinks he has a right to speak – but in the end, nothing is achieved.’
And while the work’s title – a play on ’Vox Populi’, ’voice of the people’ in Latin – betrays this intention, the double entendre of the show’s title, ’Des Corps & Des Astres’, reveals his overall modus operandi. Spoken aloud, it can also be ’Décors et Disastres’. As a brief French language lesson, the former means ’of bodies and stars’, the latter, ’décor and disasters’; both apply equally to Faustino’s ongoing artistic pursuit of how the individual fits into a contemporary collective reality.
Along with guest curator Reiko Setsuda, he avoided the temptation to take the retrospective route – despite the fact that this year marks the 20th anniversary of his architecture studio – ultimately settling on establishing a sense of transiting through moments like a film montage. It’s a particularly apt analogy given that the other new installation, ’Ashes to Ashes’, consists of black concrete stars that evoke the Hollywood Walk of Fame. ’It’s a minimal statement of repetition and difference,’ explains Faustino of the 39 identical forms, which bear the Latin words ’Habeas Corpus’ in place of celebrity names. As a legal recourse, it refers to the right to report unlawful detention; but the literal translation, ’You should have the body,’ also interested Faustino. Which is not to suggest that he expects all visitors to draw weighty conclusions from the works. ’I believe in art and architecture, a piece doesn’t need to be too obvious. If people are touched by the aesthetic, they can look for meaning and form their own interpretation. I’m not here to write the guidelines; I’m here to show the possibilities.’
Manipulating barricades is a familiar theme for Faustino; in this case, however, the scale is more impressive and the message particularly resonates in light of the current refugee crisis.Pictured: Vortex Populi, 2015
The twisting Vortex Populi is an especially pertinent work given Europe’s current refugee crisis, ’I’m talking about control of populations.’ explains Faustino. Pictured left: Hero Zero, 2015; right: Vortex Populi, 2015
Despite its weighty artistic conceptualism, Faustino wishes his work to resonate with his subject, the individual, hoping people ’look for meaning and find their own interpretation’. Pictured: Ashes to Ashes, 2015
The exhibition arrives in the year that marks the 20th anniversary of Faustino’s architecture studio. Pictured: Nowhere Somewhere, 2013
INFORMATION
Website
’Des Corps & Des Astres’ is on view until 3 January
ADDRESS
Magasin – Centre National d’Art Contemporain
Site Bouchayer-Viallet
8 esplanade Andry-Farcy
38000 Grenoble
VIEW GOOGLE MAPS (opens in new tab)
-
Masa Gallery launches inaugural Mexico City space with new solo show
Brian Thoreen and Mario García Torres are unveiling solo shows at Masa Gallery’s permanent new home in the heart of Mexico City
By Hannah Silver • Published
-
Boucheron rethinks a royal brooch for high jewellery rich in regal references
The new high jewellery collection from Boucheron, ‘Histoire de Style, Like a Queen’, is inspired by Princess Elizabeth’s 18th birthday gift
By Hannah Silver • Published
-
Ma Yansong on global architecture and MAD’s year ahead
We talk to MAD’s Ma Yansong about his thriving studio, global architecture and the year ahead
By Magali Robathan • Published