Monumental installation. Red paper, insects, pole dance, video projection, motors.
Fondation Martell
Cognac, France
2022
Created during a four month artist residency at the Fondation Martell
Curator: Nathalie Viot
Movement director: Keem Martinez
Intrarubeus Rhizoshere is an installation that questions the relationship between our interior and exterior environment. A hybrid human body and tree, roots are conformed with veins, tree rings with arteries and the scale is distorted as both microscopic and gigantic. Structures turn on the ceiling as well as within the tree. Light from the exterior pours in and creates a red landscape on the walls of the space, taking us into an planet-like environment. The second room presents a turning axe, a pole dance converted into a veiny pillar. Video projections project the artist dancing within the roots, revealing the spirit of the tree within us. This piece represents the physical hybrid of human/tree but also exists in a metaphysical world, exploring the duel spirituality within the two environments.
The Process Behind the Roots
During the artist residency, hundreds of paper roots were meticulously crafted each day, left to dry overnight, and carefully adhered to the structures the following morning. This repetitive and meditative process mirrored the act of farming, as if cultivating within a microscopic cosmic red universe. The rhythm of creation felt like a choreographed dance, evoking the intricate winding of tree roots or the interconnection of veins within the human body.
Each root was a unique creation, shaped by the individual hands that made it, embodying a personal touch within a collective whole. The Fondation Martell, a historic cognac factory, played an essential role in this journey. Retired workers from the factory were periodically invited to contribute to the installation, engaging with the making process and adding their own layers of history and craftsmanship to the work.
This monumental installation became a living tribute to the power of collective effort and the interweaving of past and present, human and natural, in the pursuit of creating something extraordinary.
