Paris Paris, 2023
On some bridges in Paris, one can observe a gold reflection from afar. This is not gold paint, but tens of thousands of padlocks, placed there by couples wanting to symbolize their everlasting bond.
However, those padlocks will not remain there for eternity. They will eventually rust and fall off, or the city maintenance staff will cut them off with bolt cutters, as is usually the case . The weight of the padlocks is so strong that it can weaken the structure of the bridges and threaten their longevity. .
This picture illustrates the difference between fantasy and reality. For some people, and in the specific case of the French capital, it could even be defined as the Paris syndrome, i.e. a cultural and psychological shock, induced by an overwhelming discrepancy between the fantasized image of the City of Light and its hyper urban reality.
In the performance Paris Paris, two people are looking for each other in Paris over three days, a disposable camera in hand, with the only instruction to take a picture whenever they have the genuine feeling that the other person is about to appear in the scenery.
All of their movements in the city are thus choreographed by their anticipation and fantasy of finding each other. This simple dispositive allows us to perceive a manifestation of absolute hope and sheer potentiality, the performance being a chance to reflect on the contingency that underlies every encounter and experience, thus “refuting the usual protocol of time”.
The pictures resulting from the experience are edited together within the video, are the documentation of an «almost», of this very instant of pure potentiality and fantasized expectancy.
Alternatively, the Paris Paris performance could have featured artist and curator as its protagonists. In this scenario, their encounter would have informed their roles within an institutional framework, portraying the performativity of their exchanges and the hopes they both project upon their potential, perhaps even everlasting, relationship.
Julie Marmet (translation P23)
72 hours performance, text, HD video (5'10'')
Photo credits: Margot Sparkes