Arnaud Vasseux – “Voices and Origins” – Patrons of the South in Montpellier

Arnaud Vasseux presents the exhibition entitled “Voices and Origins” at the Mécènes du Sud in Montpellier. This captivating exhibition explores the complexity of the tensions, silences and emotions that lie at the heart of legal institutions. Through innovative sculptures and striking installations, the artist questions the relationship between speech and silence in the judicial context. By teaming up with other artists like Sophie Dubosc, Vasseux opens a dialogue on sensitive themes such as gender-based violence and the fragmented truths of our society.

Arnaud Vasseux and his Artistic Residence

In 2023, Arnaud Vasseux conducted a residency at the SVA Avocats firm, as part of the Art et Mondes du Travail program supported by the DRAC Occitanie. This unique experience provided the rich context from which the “Voices and Origins” exhibition was conceived. Immersed in the legal environment, the artist carefully observed the interactions, silences and moments of tension which characterize this often impenetrable environment.

The Courtroom: A Theater of Fragmented Truths

Marine Lang, curator of the exhibition, describes the courtroom as a heterotopia, reflecting various places and stories in search of truth. In the center, the witness box becomes the axis around which silence and speech play out. Arnaud Vasseux recreated a replica of this bar, transforming it into a symbolic object where several witnesses can express themselves simultaneously, revealing its fragility and its metaphor for the precariousness of speech.

The Sculptures of the Extended Bar: Symbols of Fragility

His Extended bars, made of plaster, tow, and steel, illustrate shaky, cracked structures, far from institutional solidity. “Nothing fixes them,” explains Vasseux, emphasizing that their fragile nature represents the vulnerability of public and judicial speech, exposed to all eyes but often prevented.

Les Buses: When Silence Creates an Echo

Inspired by the vertiginous silences of the trials he has followed, Vasseux creates a series of plaster and resin Buses, casts of the exhibition space’s ventilation systems. These works suggest organs and media of expression such as the tongue or the eye, embodying interrupted and prevented words.

Sophie Dubosc and the Question of Prevented Speech

The exhibition includes Sophie Dubosc’s sculpture Femme au menton coupé (Woman with a Cut-Off Chin), reconfigured for the occasion. This work evokes the silencing of women, a central theme also developed by Vasseux. The presentation of this piece emphasizes the motif of impediment and lack of breath, highlighting the difficulties of articulating speech in contemporary society.

A Dialogue Articulated Around Violence and Silence

“Voices and Origins” incorporates works that explore violence in the private and public spheres. Sophie Dubosc’s installation, “Violet,” and Vasseux’s “Demeure etLacune,” address physical and emotional mutilation, and the traumas of incest and assault, which are often silenced. The Judicial Framework: Last Bastion of Truth? Beyond the works, the exhibition offers a reflection on justice as a mirror of our collective fragility. Vasseux sees this space as one of the last places where the truth– although partial – can still express itself. It draws attention to the need for constant vigilance to protect it, a theme that resonates powerfully in Montpellier, a center of debates in defense of rights and freedoms, as this article demonstrates. Mécènes du Sud becomes a place of dialogue, truth, and engaged art.

To learn more about this exhibition and its artistic offerings, follow the news of Mécènes du Sud via their official pages, and discover Vasseux’s inspired work on the website Documents d’artistes.