Cyprien Gaillard
23 May - 21 Jul 2009
CYPRIEN GAILLARD
"Ciudades de oro y espejos"
In 1818 Caspar David Friedrich painted the image of a man before an abyss, allowing himself to be absorbed by the immensity of the universe, of Nature. The oil painting Der Wanderer über dem Nebelmeer (Wanderer above the sea of fog) illustrates the Kantian idea of the sublime, in the figure of an upright gentleman at the outset of the Industrial Revolution, his foot atop a rock, regarding the infinite as his domain. Almost 200 years later, we bear witness to and form part of the 19th century's inertia: a pronounced financial crisis, added to a growing ecological crisis.
Within this historical framework, Cyprien Gaillard (France, 1980) has elaborated a body of work that shows a marked interest in monuments, ruins and malaise. Influenced by Land Art and specifically Robert Smithson's ideas about time and space, Gaillard places himself stoically at the edge of the abyss to testify to the crumbling of the world, conscious that time will not fail to re-establish its balance anew.
For example, his series of interventions into vintage postcards form a collection of places and landscapes that are canceled out or obstructed in various ways. In the series Angkor (2009), Gaillard repeatedly makes use of labels from the eponymous Cambodian brewery -- which shows Preah Khan temple, practically in ruins -- foregrounding it as a reminder that, encore (a French pun on Angkor, meaning "again"), proof exists that while everything decays, something else emerges.
Ciudades de oro y espejos (2009), shot in 16mm in Quintana Roo, is a film consisting of five scenes planned to occur principally in and around the city of Cancún, which was founded in 1970. There, a group of springbreakers; a hotel with dolphins in its pool; a member of the Bloods dancing atop a Mayan archaeological site called El Rey; the demolition of a mirrored building; and the interior of the night club Cocobongo appear one after the other, set to a particular looped recording: Le feu de St. Elme, by Haïm Saban and Shuki Levy. This music is part of the soundtrack to an animated series about Spanish conquistadors, Mysterious Cities of Gold (1982). In the cartoon, synthesizers created a sensation of suspense, incredible mysticism, and they recurred every time Esteban -- the show's diminutive protagonist -- was about to discover some new marvel, be it a grand building, a sculpture, an island, etc. According to Gaillard, this character was the first contact that French children from his generation had with pre-Columbian cultures, and it has remained strongly fixed in his memory.
The film takes on a special relevance as a portrait of our specific historical moment. Immediately after it was shot, Mexico suffered an outbreak of swine flu that, over the course of a few days, transformed into a pandemic. Tourism in Cancún was strongly affected, as many tourists canceled their vacation packages in order to return immediately to their home countries.
Maybe the wanderer in Friedrich's painting thought the same as Gaillard, but we hadn't wanted to see it.
Text: Pamela Echeverría
Opening reception; Saturday, May 23rd, 2009 - 01:00 pm
Goya 6 Col. Mixcoac, México D.F., México
Tel. + 52 (55) 5563 7156
Gallery hours:
Tuesday / Friday 11.00am - 06.00 pm
Saturday 11.00am - 04.00 pm
By appointment + 52 (55) 5563 7156
"Ciudades de oro y espejos"
In 1818 Caspar David Friedrich painted the image of a man before an abyss, allowing himself to be absorbed by the immensity of the universe, of Nature. The oil painting Der Wanderer über dem Nebelmeer (Wanderer above the sea of fog) illustrates the Kantian idea of the sublime, in the figure of an upright gentleman at the outset of the Industrial Revolution, his foot atop a rock, regarding the infinite as his domain. Almost 200 years later, we bear witness to and form part of the 19th century's inertia: a pronounced financial crisis, added to a growing ecological crisis.
Within this historical framework, Cyprien Gaillard (France, 1980) has elaborated a body of work that shows a marked interest in monuments, ruins and malaise. Influenced by Land Art and specifically Robert Smithson's ideas about time and space, Gaillard places himself stoically at the edge of the abyss to testify to the crumbling of the world, conscious that time will not fail to re-establish its balance anew.
For example, his series of interventions into vintage postcards form a collection of places and landscapes that are canceled out or obstructed in various ways. In the series Angkor (2009), Gaillard repeatedly makes use of labels from the eponymous Cambodian brewery -- which shows Preah Khan temple, practically in ruins -- foregrounding it as a reminder that, encore (a French pun on Angkor, meaning "again"), proof exists that while everything decays, something else emerges.
Ciudades de oro y espejos (2009), shot in 16mm in Quintana Roo, is a film consisting of five scenes planned to occur principally in and around the city of Cancún, which was founded in 1970. There, a group of springbreakers; a hotel with dolphins in its pool; a member of the Bloods dancing atop a Mayan archaeological site called El Rey; the demolition of a mirrored building; and the interior of the night club Cocobongo appear one after the other, set to a particular looped recording: Le feu de St. Elme, by Haïm Saban and Shuki Levy. This music is part of the soundtrack to an animated series about Spanish conquistadors, Mysterious Cities of Gold (1982). In the cartoon, synthesizers created a sensation of suspense, incredible mysticism, and they recurred every time Esteban -- the show's diminutive protagonist -- was about to discover some new marvel, be it a grand building, a sculpture, an island, etc. According to Gaillard, this character was the first contact that French children from his generation had with pre-Columbian cultures, and it has remained strongly fixed in his memory.
The film takes on a special relevance as a portrait of our specific historical moment. Immediately after it was shot, Mexico suffered an outbreak of swine flu that, over the course of a few days, transformed into a pandemic. Tourism in Cancún was strongly affected, as many tourists canceled their vacation packages in order to return immediately to their home countries.
Maybe the wanderer in Friedrich's painting thought the same as Gaillard, but we hadn't wanted to see it.
Text: Pamela Echeverría
Opening reception; Saturday, May 23rd, 2009 - 01:00 pm
Goya 6 Col. Mixcoac, México D.F., México
Tel. + 52 (55) 5563 7156
Gallery hours:
Tuesday / Friday 11.00am - 06.00 pm
Saturday 11.00am - 04.00 pm
By appointment + 52 (55) 5563 7156