To survive. is an exhibition built on a narrative structure, in which the artist appears by turns conjuring, provocative, rebellious, deeply empathetic, narcissistic and vulnerable. This thousand-faceted portrait allows us to address a pressing question: what will become of the artist, weakened by the uncertainty of his condition? What will become of the paperless artist, "Mistoufle specialist / Emigrant who pisses for visas / Adventurer of the slipper / Under the table of Nirvana / Starving on the front page"? *
To survive. tells the insane artist who devotes himself to loss-making activities: he does not speak "purchasing power", his profit comes mainly from the enjoyment provided by the impression of accessing truth or beauty.
To survive. tells the avant-garde artist who has less digital success than the rearguard because his complex and demanding works are appreciated by too small an audience. (He may, however, decide to abandon the search for simpler and less original works.)
To survive. tells the hyperflexible artist who connects odd jobs: he has a feeling of intimate urgency which leads him to give up everything (housing, inheritance, social protection…) to pursue his subject and produce an exhibited work.
To survive. questions the uncertainty of success and praise - peers or the market - of people already famous.
To survive. questions the artist's profession.
* “Poet… your papers! »By Léo Ferré, 1956
Celine Duval
WORKSHOP “ONE FACE, A THOUSAND FACETS”
In the works in the Survivre. Exhibition, the artists repeatedly use the practice of self-portraits to question their condition, what surrounds them, as well as the lives of their contemporaries. They sometimes represent themselves in full introspection, or on the contrary in broad daylight, in the heart of a city, in the midst of passers-by.
During the photo workshop, participants offered their own interpretation of the self-portrait, drawing inspiration from the different productions encountered in the exhibition. Creations could focus on the work of a particular artist.
