Walden Raft. Η πλωτή καλύβα της Elise Morin.
'Ενα έργο-εγκατάσταση που απειχεί τη σκέψη του Henry David Thoreau.
(σε συνεργασία με τον Florent Albinet)
"Η "σχεδία" Walden Raft αποτελεί ένα δυναμικό και στοχαστικό πείραμα που προσφέρει στο κοινό ένα χώρο για περισυλλογή, παραμπέποντας στην καλύβα του Henry David Thoreau που ήταν χτισμένη μέσα στο δάσος του Walden Pond το 1845. Σχεδιασμένη με τέτοιο τρόπο ώστε να επιτρέπει τη διαφάνεια αλλά και την αδιαφάνεια, το Walden Raft είναι ένας χώρος για πειραματισμό- ένα πλωτό, φωτεινό, ηχητικό, κινούμενο σκάφος."
Elise Morin
A CABIN WITHOUT WALLS
An archetype of the small rustic cabin chosen as a paradigm of "true" architecture, "Walden Raft" fol- lows the proportions of Thoreau's cabin.
Buoyancy and mobility make this shelter a space which is neither too near nor too far from the human society. The combination of wood and a modern industrial material, acrylic glass, brings transpar- ency to the construction while maintaining its protective function. "Walden Raft" offers an intermedi- ary space between Thoreau's 'Walled-in Space' and the open air, permitting a permanent interaction between interior and exterior. On the shore, cabin and visitors integrate with the landscape. Primitive and modern techniques mingle, permitting an experience lived and shared with solid ground.
The esthetics of the structure which oppose the Romantic fusion of humanity into the environment are emphasized not only by the choice of transparency but also that of flotation. From the interior or the exterior, the material's occasional transparency offers a ensemble of unique perspectives which dis- solve the perception of "wilderness" and "tameness" underlying the fundamental misunderstanding placing us in opposition with Nature. Thus, one does not inhabit this cabin; it serves to induce a spe- cific relationship to the territory surrounding it. "Walden Raft" is a non-space whose position is unceas- ingly readjusted. Neither public property, nor private, nor entirely outside the world, nor entirely interi- orized, it is an intermediatespace, a lookout post where one can see while accepting to be seen.
A NAVIGABLE CABIN
The cabin, a model of the primitive habitat at the birth of architecture, can perhaps be considered as the beginning point of any house. The cabin is also a child's dream. "Walden Raft" is a floating, "navi- gable" cabin which can be moved along a cable strung from the shore to an anchor in the depths of the lake. Movement of "Walden Raft" requires the strength of an individual moving the reel around which the cord coils. From that results enough pulling force to move the cabin, cutting it off from solid ground by a few meters.
The stretch of water crossed does not serve to link two banks but in fact to distance and immobilize the vessel on the lake. The initial process of leaving the shore as an experience in itself emphasizes the idea that we are not only users but also practitioners. We can 'practice' objects and spaces as we practice a musical instrument. It thus no longer means that we "consume" a utilitarian path but actually understand it, work on it, fully take advantage of it. The visitor's participatory movement reinforces the underlying message of Thoreau's work, which we adopt: "the non-human environment is evoked as an entirely separate actor and not only as a frame for human experience."
"Walden Raft's" integration into the landscape is also defined by its trajectory, which underlines the horizon, and by its reflection in the lake, referencing Thoreau's "open-air temple linking earth and sky." Rich with these navigable, practicable, and observational experiences, the "Walden Raft" cabin mate- rializes a logical space, losing its unique dimension as a shelter, by involving a particular relationship between immediate and distant Nature.
Gayme Lake is an artificial lake created from a bog in 1983. It is unique in being situated at the same latitude as the spot in which H.D. Thoreau performed his experiment.
Collaboration Florent Albinet
Ο αμερικανός συγγραφέας Henry David Thoreau πέρασε δύο χρόνια, δύο μήνες και δύο μέρες σε μια καλύβα μέσα σ' ένα δάσος που ανήκε στο φίλο και μεντορά του Ralph Waldo Emerson, δίπλα στη λίμνη Walden (Walden Pond), όχι πολύ μακριά από τους φίλους του και την οικογένειά του που έμεναν στο Concord, (Massachusetts). Το βιβλίο του Walden, or Life in the Woods, στο οποίο περιέγραφε την εμπειρία του αυτή με παρατηρήσεις τόσο φυσιολατρικές όσο και φιλοσοφικές, αποτέλεσε ένα από τα βιβλία αναφοράς της ελευθεριακής και οικολογικής σκέψης. Στην Αμερική αναγνωρίστηκε από την Βeat Generation, ενώ στη Γαλλία κέρδισε νέους αναγνώστες το Μάη του '68.
Elise Morin
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Born in Paris in 1978.
Lives and works in Paris.
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EDUCATION
2004-2006 PhD - Tokyo Daigaku Geijustsu (Geidai) | Tokyo | Japan
National University of Fine Arts and Music in Tokyo
Department Inter Media Art under the supervision of M. Katsuhiko Hibino
1998-2003 Diploma of the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs (Master ENSAD) | Paris - Honors degree - Project MADE IN/BY HKG
Exhibited at Jeu de Paume National Gallery | Paris
2001-2002 Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design | London | United Kingdom
1997-1998 National Art School of Villa Arson | Nice | 1st year
Faculty of Modern Letters, Arts and Humanities | Nice | 1st year
SOLO SHOWS
2014 Project Public commission (1% artistic) permanent light sculpture
Hall of a residential building, Rue Camille Risch| City of Vitry-sur-Seine(94)
WASTE LANDSCAPE #4 | Kunsthalle / Hall of Art | Košice (Slovaquie)
Commissariat: Zuzana Pacakova # C.Eliard
GLOWING MEMORIES | Esplanade of La Défense | Grande Arche | Courbevoie(92)
Curating: Pascal Signolet - Athmosphere Festival sponsored by Hubert Reeves
2013 WASTE LANDSCAPE #3 | Contemporary Art Museum (MNAC) | Bucharest (Romania)
Curating: Cosmin Tapu - Rokolectiv Festival # C.Eliard
2011 WASTE LANDSCAPE #1 | Le Centquatre Cultural Center | Paris(19)
Curating: José Manuel Gonçalves, director of Le Centquatre # C.Eliard
TOMORROW IS ANOTHER DAY permanent light sculpture | Post-office Turgot | Paris(09)
Public commission / Commissioned by the La Poste Group
Βλ. επίσης elise-morin.com
