Jardin de la Dalle 2017- now.
Paris, 1997. During a walk in a neighborhood on the outskirts of the city, I discovered a place, which looked like an island in a city: high-rise buildings, built according the values of Le Corbusier, a fascinating timelapse of architecture and urbanization. The place remained etched into my mind and kept me longing to go back. However, I couldn’t remember it's location. Only after 20 years later, I finally found the site again.
Now, an intriguing time related experience is at play. In the past twenty years, nothing seemed to have changed, but in the five years I visited the site, it did.
Memory, time and desire shape my gaze to photograph.
Traces of human intervention blurred the original architectural plan and aesthetics. Small differences in the photographs show the refurbishment of the place, and with it the evolution of the perception of this architecture. How do today's residents cope with living in this constructed environment?
A probing desire to preserve what was, becomes an investigation of what remains. An ode to the constant cycle of construction and demolition and all creations in between.
In 2021, I decided to involve the residents themselves: I distributed 500 postcards among the residential blocks. Each of these postcards depicted the site and featured a quote, related to Les Olympiades. I asked the residents to send me back the card, with their personal opinion about the site. The postcards and responses were then compiled in a booklet.
Now, in 2023, I complete this project by giving the booklets back to the residents of Jardin de la Dalle des Olympiades. (1000 copies)
During corona, the Antwerp based artplatform SECONDroom initiated a project trying to stay in contact with the artist: SECONDroom posted:
A postcard made and signed by the artist was printed in an edition of 50, distributed and offered for sale.
In october '22 I was invited by SECONDroom to exhibit a series of images of Jardin de la Dalle.
