didier faustino presents the wild things at galerie michel rein in paris

didier faustino : the wild thingsgalerie michel rein, parisuntil may 28th,  2011

‘the wild things’ is the franco-portuguese architect didier faustino‘s first solo show at the galerie michel rein in paris. fascinated by science fiction literature (notably the work of philip k. dick), the architect-artist draws heavily on the artifacts that allow him to link architecture more and more into the narrative. the title of the show suggests that the energy behind these projects is moving towards the realm of pure fiction. a cantilevered tripod generally used by land surveyors is here applied to document and becomes an instrument dedicated to the exploration of mental landscapes.

dider faustino, the wild things‘instrument for blank architecture’, exhibition view at galerie michel rein, paris 2011courtesy galerie michel rein, parisphoto © f. kleinefenn

at the center of the white gallery, the surveyor’s tripods of ‘instrument for blank architecture’ on which helmets are installed have abandoned their function, inviting the viewer to listen to frequencies that refer to soundscapes composed by russell haswell.

dider faustino, the wild thingsexhibition view at galerie michel rein, paris 2011courtesy galerie michel rein, parisphoto © f. kleinefenn

‘instrument for blank architecture’photos © f. kleinefenn

dider faustino, the wild things‘balance of emptiness’, 2010exhibition view at galerie michel rein, paris 2011courtesy galerie michel rein, parisphoto © f. kleinefenn

to disseminate the definition of ‘wild things’, a model of mathematical reproduction of wormholes — made from stripped branches of chestnut trees — is floating in the gallery space.

the ‘balance of emptiness’ is a way for faustino to experience therelation between reality and fiction by representing in an empiric way a hypothetical physical phenomenon

the novel by philip k. dick ‘pay for the printer’ describes a world where everything is repeated until exhaustion. the installation generates a visual and physics disturbance and leads the view through the space as two endless targets whose shadows are dematerialized on walls, making bodies slide into a fourth dimension…

dider faustino, the wild thingsexhibition view at galerie michel rein, paris 2011courtesy galerie michel rein, parisphoto © f. kleinefenn

the absurdity of creating a mathematical reproduction of wormholes

the sculpture follows on from a project started in japan in collaboration with professional bamboo craftsmen.

installation in the CCA project gallery, kitakyushu, japan, 2010

dider faustino, the wild thingsexhibition view at galerie michel rein, paris 2011courtesy galerie michel rein, parisphoto © f. kleinefenn

dider faustino, the wild thingsexhibition view at galerie michel rein, paris 2011courtesy galerie michel rein, parisphoto © f. kleinefenn

photo © f. kleinefenn

the provocative declaration, ‘doing architecture with blood, hair, sweat and semen’ is the manifesto phrase that has characterized the program of the architect from the beginning of his art career.

didier faustino’s previous works include:

‘double happiness’, 2009 billboard and swings mix, steel ladder, steel lattice platform, protective nets on steel structure 6.4 x 3.7 x 6.6 mview of the installation, shenzen and hong-kong bienniale of urbanism/architecture : city mobilisation, shenzen, china

‘point break’, 2009 chain link fence and barbed wire 40 m2view of the exhibition ‘(g)host in the (s)hell’, at laxart gallery in los angeles, USAphoto © kelly barrie