To coincide with the Vieilles coques & jeunes récifs exhibition (on view until 21.07.24), the Réserves du Frac in Romainville are offering workshops and performances for a festive Sunday.
From 2.30 pm to 7 pm, as part of the Métropolitaine (an international contemporary art event in Greater Paris), the hot-air balloon of Maxime Rossi’s opera Terre, air, feu (Earth, air, fire) unfurls. Then artist Tilhenn Klapper presents Les trois vieilles, a performance combining song, sculpture, plants, electric guitar and traditional Breton dance.
2:30 – 4:30 p.m.: Hot-air balloon presentation and Oriflamme workshop
The centerpiece of Maxime Rossi’s synesthetic opera Terre, air, feu, the hot-air balloon is housed in the Frac’s tunnel. At the heart of this inflated grotto is a film by the artist.
At the same time, a free workshop (open to all) invites visitors to decorate the balloon’s oriflamme as they wish, in order to create the giant exquisite corpse of La Métropolitaine, in the presence of musician Wang Li and botanist Laëtita Carrive.
16h : guided visit
Guided tour of the Vieilles coques & jeunes récifs exhibition by Hugo Audam, cultural mediator.
4.50pm: Unveiling of the Frac oriflamme
5pm: Performance Les trois vieilles by Tilhenn Klapper
With Mehdi Besnainou (guitar and vocals).
Echoing the exhibition, Tilhenn Klapper presents her performance Les trois vieilles, combining vocals, sculptures, plants, electric guitar and traditional Breton dance. The voice, garage-punk chords, mugwort fumigation and repetition of traditional dance steps combine to invoke an ancient dance.
“A dance that returns is a ghost dance. I click my heels to the beat of an old Breton bourrée. I can’t tell you how it used to be danced, but I can show you other dances, impersonal, broken, weak, haphazard, that appear between me and the old lady. I salute the ghosts, I’ve come to understand that it’s not up to me to decide which one enters my world”.
Tilhenn Klapper
5.30pm – 7pm: Closing drink
Demory’s “Ourcq en fête” beer celebrates the cultural and creative district of Ourcq – alcohol abuse is dangerous for your health, so drink in moderation.