Lucas Erin at Espace3353 / Geneva

Lucas Erin / Nou Kontan Wè Zot

24/02/2024 - 23/03/2024

Espace 3353 - as slow as possible
9 Rue du Tunnel
1227 Carouge

Photo credits: Yul Tomatala, Espace 3353.

Exhibition text:

”Nou Kontan Wé Zot” is a greeting of “Glad to see you / to have seen you,” used in both past and present tense. The exhibition Nou Kontan Wè Zot explores the imaginary of a “lost paradise” and its connections to ecological and political issues. It centres around the emblematic figure of the hummingbird which, for the artist, symbolises the challenges faced by a resilient community forced to resourcefulness in a society marked by the legacy of colonialism. 

Responding to the theme of Making Kin, Making Place, Lucas Erin takes inspiration from the atmosphere of the Creole veranda and welcomes us into a landscape of sculptures and ready-made objects. A social space that has a special place within the Caribbean home and community, the veranda embodies hospitality and openness to the outside world, offering a space for exchange, rest and observation. As such, this exhibition invites visitors to settle in and turn their backs to the wall, evoking a sense of retreat, of keeping vigil.

 

Lucas Erin (*1990) is a Franco-Caribbean artist whose practice is rooted in a multicultural reflection that explores resistance to social normalization, human encounters and interrelations. Inspired by the ideas of Patrick Chamoiseau and Edouard Glissant, his work explores the cultural heritage of the Caribbean and themes of catastrophe. After completing his masters in Visual Arts at the École cantonale d’art de Lausanne in 2016, he devoted several years to exploring the collective aspects of his artistic practice and thinking, by getting involved in various independent art spaces in Paris, notably La Colonie. He is co-founder of the Happy Baby Gallery in Crissier, and his work has been shown at the Allstars gallery (Lausanne), the Musée cantonal d’art de Lausanne, the Sunsworks (Zurich) and the Helmhaus (Zurich) among others.

 

The exhibition is accompanied with texts by Jean Bourgois and Véronique Kanor.