A curatorial proposal by Céline Poulin and Alicia Reymond
with works by Alex Ayed, Jimmy Beauquesne, Bruno Botella, Eglė Budvytytė, Nina Canell, Nicolas Faubert & Mona Young-eun Kim, Garance Früh, Robin Girod, Hedwig Houben, Camille Juthier, Taus Makhacheva, Ibrahim Meïté Sikely, Tracey Moffatt, Isadora Neves Marques, Ceylan Öztrük, Clara Pacotte, Hatice Pinarbaşi, Prune Phi, Camilo Restrepo, Colin Self, Ketty Steward & L. M. Cantori, Zin Taylor, Eden Tinto Collins, Jeanne Vicerial and Laure Vigna
and scenography by rita elhajj and régis badgassarian.
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The title of the exhibition, Old Hulls & Young Reefs, refers to several metaphors: the body as a shell destined for decay, potentially challenged by the beautiful coral that replaces it or, on the contrary, revives it. A medical technique has been developed to strengthen bones by grafting coral.
Physical and psychological bodies, whether real or imagined, evolve in response to the demands and the need for performance, adaptability and treatment. Technological advances enable both survival and improved competitiveness, in the professional sports sector but also, more generally, in all the realms, both public and private, that are part of this global system.
Sci-fi has anticipated these subjects and continues to invent real, augmented and fictional bodies that subtly position themselves in relation to each other and to various ecosystems.
The title also evokes the fact that, contrary to popular belief, sci-fi often draws on very old stories, leaving deep imprints on our imaginations that are hard to pin down, contributing to its skilful ability to shift focus and, in this case too, to regenerate.
Vue de l’exposition Vieilles coques & jeunes récifs, Frac Île-de-France, les Réserves, Romainville © Martin Argyroglo 
Vue de l’exposition Vieilles coques & jeunes récifs, au 1er plan Monstre 1, Otherword communication et Rideaux de Prune Phi Frac Île-de-France, les Réserves, Romainville © Martin Argyroglo 
Vue de l’exposition Vieilles coques & jeunes récifs, Frac Île-de-France, les Réserves, Romainville © Martin Argyroglo 2
The works presented in Les Réserves bear witness to interactions with other entities (Tracey Moffatt), rituals performed to invoke them, notably through music and song (Robin Girod, Camilo Restrepo, Colin Self). Individual mythologies (Ibrahim Meïté Sikely) emerge through alternative channels and networks of perception and discussion (Prune Phi) and, ultimately, through the co-creation mechanisms that extend them (Nicolas Faubert & Mona Young-eun Kim).
The works at Le Plateau have one thing in common: they suggest, explicitly or otherwise, that transformations are taking place. These changes take the form of exercises and training (Camille Juthier, Taus Makhacheva), experiments and mutations that are sometimes successful and sometimes unsuccessful (Ceylan Östrük), taking place in various places, from the micro to the macro, in individual and/or collective bodies of varying degrees of fiction (Jimmy Beauquesne). Whether moving forwards or backwards, stretching or curling up (Eglė Budvytytė), the works in this space are positioned within this ambiguity and latency.
The way in which the works are exhibited and interact is the result of a scenographic interpretation of the American writer Ursula K. Le Guin’s Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction[1], a structural reflection that constructs narratives of assemblages, supports, articulations, shifts, imbalances and tensions. The scenography, designed by rita elhajj and régis badgassarian, invites us to rethink the role of central elements that are rigid and indissociable from the architecture they support, such as the load-bearing pillars, while at the same time highlighting how the works retain their own autonomy, both within this scenographic body and within the institution itself.
Like a reversible bag, or two parts of the same non-linear story, you can visit the exhibition starting either from Le Plateau and ending in Le Réserves, or vice versa. We encourage visitors to take as many different approaches to the exhibition as they wish, reading, watching, listening, touching, sitting on whatever is available – in short, to experience their surroundings in their own way.
[1]The French translation is available online: https://www.terrestres.org/2018/10/14/la-theorie-de-la-fiction-panier/
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This double exhibition is part of the local project of the same name, involving a number of partner venues in the Île-de-France region.
This project is part of L’Olympiade culturelle for La Métropolitaine, the international contemporary art event for Greater Paris, organised in collaboration with the TRAM Paris/Île-de-France network from 4th May to 15th September 2024.
Offsite:
Devenirs hybrides, MuMo tour of Île-de-France, Normandie and Hauts-de-France with an exhibition designed by Frac Île-de-France from 3.06 to 27.09.24
Le vacarme du cœur, Laurie Charles solo exhibition at Domaine de Chamarande (91) from 25.05 to 22.09.24
La Chambre à échos: Vieilles coques et jeunes récifs, at Centre d’art contemporain de La Ferme du Buisson, Noisiel (77) from 17.03 to 28.07.24
Sport en banlieue parisienne, at Musée d’Histoire Vivante, Montreuil (93) from 18.05 to 29.12.24
Nicolas Faubert and Mona Young-eun Kim’s work (presented at Les Réserves) collaborative project with CAC Brétigny, Brétigny-sur-Orge (91)
Exhibitions and workshops in spring 2024 with Collège Françoise Héritier, Noisy-le-Sec (93) and Lycée Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Créteil (94)
Workshop with the Centre Inter-Médiathèque de l’APHP (75)
Discover the exhibition teaser:
Exhibition’s journal
Download the exhibition’s journal
Rendez-vous
Opening
Saturday 16.03.24 at Le Plateau (4pm-6pm), then at Le Réserves (6pm-9pm)
Launch of La Métropolitaine
Saturday 04.05
An afternoon of perfomances curated by Alicia Reymond.
La Métropolitaine, the international contemporary art event of the Greater Paris Metropolis, organised in collaboration with the TRAM Paris / Île-de-France network from 4 May to 15 September 2024.
Nuit Blanche
Overdanse: the dance marathon
Saturday 01.06, 2pm to midnight
A project by artist Tony Regazzoni
Free, registration on Reservio and 01 76 21 13 33
Paris 1924 – 2024
Saturday and Sunday 06.07 and 07.07.24, performances, workshops and encounters
Guided tours
Every Saturday at 4pm
Free without reservation
Children’s event
Coques sportives*
Wednesdays 10.04 and 17.07.24
2:30 pm to 4:30 pm
Inspired by sports equipment, make prostheses that will make you look like a robot, an animal or a superhero.
Family bike ride *
Wednesday 17.04.24, 2.30 pm to 5.30 pm
Ages 8 and up
After discovering the exhibition at Le Plateau, the group will cycle to Les Réserves for a snack followed by a hands-on workshop linked to the exhibition.
On reservation (RDV at Le Plateau)
Parkour !*
Saturday 04.05 and Saturday 06.07.24
2:30 pm to 4:30 pm
Create sculptural obstacles, then try out your own athletic course!
Nuit blanche*
Overdance with the Kidz
Saturday 01.06.24, 2pm to 6pm
During a festive afternoon, the Frac is transformed into a giant dance floor for a unique competition: the one who dances the longest wins!
Nouveaux étendards*
Wednesday 10.07.24, 2.30 pm to 4.30 pm
How about reinventing the values promoted by sport? Children and parents will create fabric flags in the image of their new mottos.
*Free appointment
Registration on Reservio and 01 76 21 13 33