KOKO HORE WAN WAN
Photo : Gabriel Monnet
KOKO HORE WAN WAN
2023
Environmental art
earth, stone, sand, stoneware, porcelain, glass, glaze, slip, wood, rain, grass, flower, sun
For several years, I have been creating series representing fossils of plastic packaging. My work often proposes a reformulation of trivial objects from everyday life, to which I give, through a series of operations and transformations, a disconcerting appearance. This involves starting from pre-existing forms, such as plastic packaging for snacks, salads, PET bottles, etc., found in supermarkets. Instead of transparent plastic, I introduce a heterogeneous, granular, composite material, which evokes oxidized iron or even underwater archaeological remains. Two firings and an enamelling which solidifies the pieces complete the object, which then takes on the strange appearance of a piece difficult to date, archaic and futuristic at the same time.
For the occasion of the Bex & Arts 2023 Triennale, I carried out an archaeological excavation site in which visitors can dig to find my pieces. As a continuation of this experience, I would like to give visitors the opportunity to leave with the objects found after their search. The entire project is then scaled 1:1 – in the physical relationship to the piece, in the experience it offers and in the final gesture which is offered to the public. This treasure hunt would bring a futuristic vision to visitors as if they were archaeologists from the year 5023 who discover a magic of nature and time. I consider this site as a sculpture that changes its shape over time thanks to the participation of visitors. Because they sculpt the terrain to find objects from our era of consumption.
For the title of this work, I took a dialogue from an old Japanese tale. “KOKO HORE WAN WAN” means “Dig here Bow-Wow”. It is a dialogue of a Pochi dog used in the tale Hanasaka jiisan, to indicate the location of treasures buried in the ground.