Martine Feipel & Jean Bechameil
Since 2008 the French-Luxembourgish artistic duo Martine Feipel (1975, Luxembourg) and Jean Bechameil (1964, Paris) have been developing a practice that interrogates the history of industrial modernity and its role in the evolution of our contemporary societies. Their work draws on and critiques a rich formal vocabulary of references from the avant-garde movements of the 20th century, such as Bauhaus, constructivism and cubism. Their reflection on the heritage of modernism highlights its contributions as well as its misadventures, having been constructed around an explosion of technical progress that drove large-scale improvements in living conditions while also resulting in glaring social injustices and an unrestrained predation on the environment.
The bas-relief Electric Eclipse (2017) is a motorised sound piece. Two discs perform rotary movements coordinated by an automating programme developed for the robotics industry. The two magnetic motors that make Electric Eclipse a kinetic artwork are also the result of state-of-the-art technology generating fluid movements without jolts or mechanical friction. The geometric forms distributed across the work according to an orthogonal grid reference the abstract and rhythmic compositions of Auguste Herbin (1882–1960) or Sophie Taeuber-Arp (1889–1943). Electric Eclipse, which can be displayed with a curtain that can be opened or closed, is about choreographic notation as much as it is about automation. By appropriating industrial technologies and diverting them from their profitable, productive tasks in favour of visual poetry, the artists underline the importance of mastering these new technologies in order not to succumb to their dominance.
Le Cercle fermé (2011) thus takes as its starting point the architecture of Ca’ del Duca, a building dating from the 15th century, home of the Luxembourg pavilion at the Venice Biennale since 1999. Is is composed of a series of rooms without any true right angles because of its age. Martine Feipel and Jean Bechameil’s work is installed close to the Grand Canal and also responds to the context of Venice, which in many ways is an unreal and atemporal city. During the exhibition run, the artists also completely transform the Ca’ del Duca into a succession of illusionistic paintings, oscillating between the real and the unreal and playing on loss of bearings: straight becomes curved, the floor becomes confused with the ceiling and orientation is disturbed. The installation contains inert and deformed objects and appears frozen in time. It opens up a potential space at the heart of the existing space. The title of the installation translates the experience of the viewer on various levels: disoriented, like in a closed labyrinth, you also find yourself at the heart of the installation where you can project your own narrative.
Artworks
Martine Feipel & Jean Bechameil Le Cercle Fermé, 2011 Lustre Saint-Louis, moteur, polyuréthane
Dimensions variables
Collection Mudam Luxembourg
Acquisition 2011
Vue de l’exposition Atelier Luxembourg. The Venice Biennale Projects 1988 – 2011, 13.10.2012 – 24.02.2013, Mudam Luxembourg
© Photo (détail) : Aurélien Mole | Mudam Luxembourg
Martine Feipel & Jean Bechameil Electric Eclipse, 2017 Résine acrylique, époxy, 2 moteurs robotiques coordonnés, son, rideau
220 x 367 x 20 cm
Collection Mudam Luxembourg
Acquisition 2022
© Photo : Martin Arygroglo/LVAN