Action: The audience gathers at the entrance of the museum, whilst the artist appears at the reception and takes off his clothes, remaining in his white undergarments. He exits into the yard through the audience members, holding a metallic bowl. Whilst kneeling onto the grass, the artist attempts to cut the grass around him in a circular pattern of movements. Once the bowl is full of grass, he enters again the museum whilst holding it, in order to be followed by the audience through the museum’s exhibits and into the "Salon Rouge", where Bernard Lange’s sculpture is exhibited. After placing the bowl onto a transparent podium, he sits on the floor with his back to the white podium that is placed next to the sculpture, and uses white tape in order to form a patter of horizontal stripes onto his right leg. He then climbs onto the podium whilst holding a shaving machine, and assumes the same position as the sculpture’s male figure that is pulling a spear out of his leg. After remaining still for a period of time, holding the shaving machine at the same spot as the spear, the artist turns the machine on and shaves the parts of his right leg that are not covered by the tape. Once this process is completed, he sits on the podium and fills these gaps with glue, in order to attach the grass in horizontal stripes. The white tape is removed, and the artist stands straight in order to allow for the observation of his right leg in shaved and unshaved stripes - partly filled with the parallel lines of grass. He then jumps onto the floor and slowly opens his mouth in order to reveal a fuchsia rose that grows out of it. Whilst holding the revealed flower by his teeth, he engages in direct eye contact with each member of the audience and exits the museum’s hall. 

Déforestation #1

Performance in parallel to sculpture "Philopeomen à Sellasie" by Bernard Lange (1829) / Part of event "L’Éveil du Printemp" curated by Mehdi Brit & Blanche De Lestrange for "Festival international d'Art de Toulouse" / Musée des Augustins / Toulouse - France / May - 2014 / Duration: 45'

Material: artist's body, sculpture, white undergarment, shaving machine, white tape, metallic bowl, grass, glue, rose, white podium, transparent podium

Photo: Franck Alix