Monday, August 31, 2009

Aurelien Froment


http://www.bonnierskonsthall.se

Bonniers Konsthall opens its autumn season with magical memories and classical illusions. The French artist Aurélien Froment is showing the video installation Théâtre de Poche (Pocket Theatre) and the performance Le chiffre à la letter (Code Countdown).

Aurélien Froment works with pictures, objects and symbols. He playfully speculates about how things are given meaning by means of language and context. In the video installation Théâtre de Poche(Pocket Theatre) and the performance Le chiffre à la lettre (Code Countdown) we meet illusionists and simple tricks that fascinatingly stimulate our imaginations. Pocket Theatre is loosely based on the story of the vaudeville artist Arthur Lloyd, also known as the "The Human Card Index". Lloyd made a name for himself in the 1930s by fishing pieces of printed matter out of his pockets on request. For the current work, Froment borrows from the magician's randomly selected world and creates an illusion of freely floating images. The chronological narrative soon shifts over into the simultaneity of collage. Like a thought map built up out of associations between form and content, the photographs show classical sculptures, exotic animals, anatomical models and buildings.

Le chiffre à la lettre (Code Countdown), meanwhile, is based on an interview with the French magician Benoît Rosemont. Rosemont talks about magic and ingenious techniques for memorising numbers. He shares his own tricks with us, and reveals the methods of older colleagues. This is Froment's latest work, and it premiered earlier this year at Khastoo Gallery in Los Angeles. In Stockholm, the monologue will be performed by the Swedish actor Johan Holmberg on three occasions during the exhibition period; at Bonniers Konsthall on 27 August at 6.15 pm and on 10 October at 2.30 pm as well as at the Royal Dramatic Theatre on 29 August at 1 pm.

Aurélien Froment grapples with existing worlds of images and generously shares his own. In an expansive motion he expresses himself through books, performances, video, photography and objects. The works are multi-layered and call for a sharp eye, with references that can be traced to feature films, early film technology and literature. Froment is inspired by historical personages who have worked with everything from magic to creating and manipulating images as architects and puzzle makers do.

Aurélien Froment (born 1976) lives and works in Dublin. He was educated at the art schools in Nantes and Rennes, and has contributed to numerous exhibitions internationally, including at De Appel in Amsterdam, Gasworks, London and CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts, San Francisco, as well as at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris.

In collaboration with the Royal Dramatic Theatre. Supported by CULTURESFRANCE.

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