Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?
Another recurring motif from 2015, is the window, in obstruction at Gladstone Gallery (0.A34). From reflective surfaces to portals to the outside world, a game of trompe l’oeil is underway. The effect is confusing. From one space to the next, visitors find themselves trapped by their own illusions, whilst the layout of the galleries, especially on the ground floor, invites one to cross the barrier of the stands with ease thanks to the interconnecting entrances between galleries.
Lee Bul @ gallery Thaddaeus Ropac (0.C25)
It is a space where visitors observe each other, watch each other, strolling along the aisles of the Grand Palais. From a Kader Attia (0.A54) to a Xu Zhen (0.C44), passers-by re-coiff or adjust their outfits slightly. Others prefer to immortalize the moment in photo, tweeted immediately of course.
So, mirrors, from the reflected fragments realized by Lee Bul (0.C25) to Céleste Boursier-Mougenot’s sculpted reflections (0.C25), an interactive computer screen, echoing his recent Palais de Tokyo exhibition. Joan Ayrton’s Color is an Image (1.F03) series plays with the diffraction of light, imprisoning color with glass, whilst the gallery Fabienne Leclerc In Situ explores the notion of reverberation with the work of the late Lars Fredrikson (0.C09).
The shift from image to sound is only one step away.
Lars Fredrikson @ gallery In Situ - Fabienne Leclerc (0.C09)
If the window is an opening on the world, the mirror gives us access to our own reflection. Plural identities, multiple personalities. At the heart of an era engaged in the exchanging and sharing of self-images, FIAC 2015 has been transformed into a true hall of mirrors.
To see or review the works mentioned, please refer to the map, distributed for free at the entrance.
Doug Aitken @ 303 Gallery (0.B22)
