In celebration of diptyque’s 60th anniversary, the fragrance house presents “Voyages Immobiles – The Grand Tour,” an exhibition curated by artistic director and former editor in chief of L’Officiel Art magazine, Jérôme Sans. “Voyages Immobiles” seeks to explore international nomadism, in particular nomadism as a concept following the world’s plummet into forced immobility during the Covid-19 pandemic. Despite there being a pause on travel, there was an unstoppable collective desire to experience new cultures, which because of the digital space, does not necessarily mean physically traveling. Sans draws inspiration from A Journey Around My Room, Xavier de Maistre’s 1794 autobiographical account of transforming his time in enforced confinement into an experience shaped around daydreaming and introspection.
Hiroshi Sugimoto, courtesy of diptyque.
The interdisciplinary exhibition, held in the Poste du Louvre in Paris is an exploration in the mythical and imagined worlds of several different artists, among them, Gregor Hildebrandt, Johan Creten, Zoë Paul, and Hiroshi Sugimoto.
German multimedia artist Hilderbrandt, made use of magnetic tapes from audio and VHS cassettes as well as vinyl records to create black and white and gray mural membranes of the technology relic, that although is obsolete, has become a shared cultural memory. Inspired by the mythology and fantasy of the Venetian siren, sculptor Creten pairs two new statues of the mythological creature in dialogue with a set of Venetian portable bronzes from the artist’s personal collection. One of his sirens, a bronze sculpture, dipped in blue-green wax, will emerge after the candle burns down. The second siren, dipped in resin, suggests that our outer self is made more clear when we are open about our internal lives.
Gregor Hildebrant, courtesy of diptyque.
Out of Athens, Paul’s work seeks to understand the physicality of humans in relation to the space they inhabit. She uses traditional beadwork to make hanging mosaics that blur the boundaries between public and private. Her work is set in contrast by Sugimoto’s installation, a transcription of one of the colors revealed when light passes through an optical glass prism. Through his signature work on light and diffraction, Sugimoto creates fleeing emotions in extraordinary sites.
Zoe Paul, courtesy of diptyque.
With the exhibition, Sans tells a “multi-scale story that gradually unfolds from a personal level to a global one, but also a means to escape the ordinary experience of another reality, and refresh our view of the world while stationary.” The exhibition is on view now until October 24 at 52 Rue du Louvre in Paris.
Johan Creten, courtesy of diptyque.
