ARTIST’S APPROACH
What is an image? The work of Francisco de La Barra seeks to glorify the image and at the same time to remove its power. His practice is a reflection on the issues of gender, identity and vulnerability. The perspective of vulnerability in his works is linked to emotional fragility as well as to the ephemeral nature of existence. Vulnerability is also manifest in the materials, in media such as cardboard and the use of photocopies. He generally produces paintings, but also photographs, installations and performances.
THE ARTWORK
Musée de carton (cardboard museum)
Installation, 2018-2019
The idea behind this work is the role of the image between truth and illusion. In our era of celebrities and social networks, an individual’s visual image and public image are carefully constructed and constantly attacked. The artist’s project seeks to establish a connection between virtual space and physical space.
This goal of this exercise is to reflect on the distance that separates us from someone: the closer we get, the more we see, and the more we can forge a better image of the individual. This also allows us to discover what is truth and illusion in the public image, and in the flesh-and-bone individual. In this project, the artist uses Internet images which, despite their high resolution, are not conducive to life-size presentation. His mode of representation references the wax museum, but also advertising billboards that use life-size photos of celebrities on cardboard backing, used as promotional displays in stores. He seeks to create panels with a photocopy aesthetic, borrowing from the aesthetics of 1980s marginal movements.
Curator : Art Souterrain
