One enters this gallery to expect exhibits on view, but the place instead is done up like a corporate office. One would like to see and appreciate the displayed art but the exhibition ‘Happy Owners’ asks the visitors to select a future home for themselves.
Unwillingly, one picks up a sticker to be pasted on the house of one’s choice. The options available make the jaws drop – a perfect combination of nature and modern architecture.
“When I shifted to Mumbai for work, I was living in a flat in the north of the city. One day I saw an advertisement by a real estate company with the slogan: ‘Lose yourself in Nature’. It was ironic, since the settlement was coming up on a piece of land which would require cutting of trees,” says Soazic Guezennec, the artist.
Difficult to be categorised as a photography or graphic exhibition, the works displayed on the walls are extremely different from the usual art exhibition. The artist here creates a make-believe world of real estate where construction of imaginary homes is ongoing and the same are available for sale.
The eye falls on the ‘Tree Tower’ with the tag line – ‘Smart life starts here’ and one gets a view of a skyscraper looking like the trunk of a giant tree. “Unlike Europe where the structures are quite old and not undergoing any construction, India has cities which have collaboration between nature and the city. This conflict between the natural and man-made interested me,” says the Mumbai-based artist.
Her imagination leads to graphic views of – ‘Cathedral Colony’, ‘Cascade Grandeur’, ‘Sky Nest’, ‘Celestial Mountains’, ‘Oceanopolis’, ‘Magic Mushrooms’ and ‘Banyan City’. The artist goes to the extent of describing these buildings in detail with their architectural plans and thus explores the uncommon concept of ‘Subjective Architectural Realty’.
“I wanted to combine slogans with real estate buildings which actually go with their theme, rather than being in complete contrast,” explains Guezennec as one admires her exuberant creations, especially the one in which she turns a bunch of buildings into waterfalls. There is another which draws inspiration from the mushrooms and the list goes on, as wild as possible.
In order to make this utopia credible, the projects are described on the classic supports of the real estate communication such as brochures and plans. All these invite feedback from visitors.
“In fact, every city where the exhibition is put up inspires me to create another design and add to this ‘work in progress’. The night or sky view displayed here is what I created after the exhibition was put up in Kerala,” says the artist as Delhiites wait for her to add their city to this league.
The exhibition is on display at Galerie Romain Rolland, Alliance Française till February 1.