STOP MA PA TA / Point Quartz, Flower of Kent

I am now on holidaaaaaays !!!

Gonna be writing tones of articles !

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Anyway, as yesterday was my last day of school – I still can’t realize I am on holidays, yaaaaay ! – my Art teacher brought us (me and my class) to the Villa Arson, the most famous art school in town. And we went to see two exhibitions.

The first one, STOP MA PA TA – as « MA matière première n’est PAs TA matière » – lasting until September 17th, is an in-situ exhibition which main theme is the trade in raw materials between Africa and industrial powers.

14 artists from Benin exposed their work, symbol of their culture, reusing materials, mixing colors and representing their nation, their lives, denouncing the way industrial powers use their materials. Typical African work, directly set on the ground, with no support. 

Usually I am no big fan of African Art, yet this time I was quite surprised. I think this exhibition transcribes well the aim of the artists to share their culture and rituals. And what I also appreciated is that the meaning of the pieces seemed pretty clear to me, and it’s quite pleasant not to spend hours trying to find out what the artist wanted to tell : it’s explicit.

It was very interesting.

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Then, the second exhibition, which is shorter and taking place in a single room, is titled POINT QUARTZ / Flower of Kent. It’s also an in-situ exhibition, which theme is the use of ceramic. In a huge room of 300m², on a floor covered with ceramic tiles that broke while you were walking on them, were settled a few art pieces from different artists, all made in ceramic – ceramic in all its forms.

First, walking on a shattered ceramic ground and hearing the sound of it under the feet was very pleasant. Then, some art pieces were clever, some were funny, some were disturbing. But the whole thing was very interesting.

This exhibition is also lasting until September 17th.

I liked them both very much, and I encourage you to go there ! Plus, the place is so beautiful, if you don’t like the exhibitions, you can at least enjoy the landscape. 😉