Exposition " Orphée ruminait des mots à l'étouffée "
- idzia13200
- May 10, 2023
- 2 min read
Updated: Mar 28
Julien Creuzet : Orphée ruminait des mots à l'étouffée
📍 Luma Westbau, Zurich
▪️ iDzia setup : video et hologramme
Exposition " Orphée ruminait des mots à l'étouffée "
From February 10 to May 21, 2023, Luma Westbau in Zurich hosted an extraordinary exhibition by French-Caribbean artist Julien Creuzet, titled Orphée Ruminait des Mots à l’Étouffée. This exhibition provided a deep and captivating exploration into Creuzet’s artistic world, where poetry, prose, and cultural identity converge in a breathtaking blend of visual and auditory experiences. The exhibit itself was a powerful interrogation of the complexity of cultural hybridity, resistance, and the politics of representation.
Creuzet's work takes inspiration from multiple sources, blending Caribbean folklore, Afro-descendant experiences, and French colonial history to explore the nuances of identity and the layers of storytelling. Orphée Ruminait des Mots à l’Étouffée draws on the myth of Orpheus, a figure caught between the realms of life and death, whose narrative Creuzet reimagines through his own unique lens. The artist's interpretation of Orpheus is not just about mythological rebirth or tragic love, but about confronting the silenced and suppressed voices of Black culture, offering them a space for expression.
The exhibition was transformed by an installation by iDzia, which combined video and holographic technology to immerse visitors in Creuzet's visionary universe. iDzia’s innovative use of holograms and dynamic video projections played a central role in deepening the emotional impact of Creuzet's themes, further intensifying the exhibition's sensory experience. Through this fusion of technology and art, the viewers were drawn into an ethereal world where spoken words, images, and sounds intertwined, creating a multi-layered journey that interrogated the complexities of historical narratives and cultural memory.
The central theme of the exhibition—the decolonized opera—reflected Creuzet's exploration of hybridity and the blending of different artistic traditions to create something entirely new. His work questions the idea of cultural purity and invites the viewer to reflect on the power dynamics that shape cultural expression. Through fragmented narratives and visual metaphors, Creuzet urges the audience to consider the intersections of race, identity, and history in both the personal and collective realms.
At Luma Westbau, this exhibition also prompted dialogue on the role of art in reshaping perceptions of marginalized cultures, offering a nuanced and thought-provoking reflection on how art can resist, challenge, and reshape dominant cultural narratives. By blending poetic imagery with technological innovation, Orphée Ruminait des Mots à l’Étouffée created an environment that encouraged viewers to think critically about their relationship to history, art, and the ongoing conversation around decolonization.
In conclusion, Creuzet’s exhibition at Luma Westbau was a compelling and multifaceted experience, inviting audiences to engage with difficult yet necessary conversations about race, culture, and the legacy of colonialism. By reinterpreting classical narratives and infusing them with new, decolonized meanings, Creuzet’s work offered a powerful platform for voices that have often been overlooked or silenced, creating a space where art becomes an act of resistance, transformation, and reclamation.
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