françois bauchet + eric jourdan + no. 111: the fourth wall

‘the fourth wall,’ a collaborative installation by no. 111, françois bauchet, and eric jourdan.

‘the fourth wall’ installation represents the collaborative efforts of françois bauchet, eric jourdan, and no. 111, a creative firm composed of sophie françon, jennifer julien, and grégory peyrache. all three designers of no. 111 are alumni of st. etienne who studied under bauchet and jourdan, and the piece was one of the ‘off’ exhibitions at the st. etienne design biennale 2010.

the project explores the way in which light and setting generate atmosphere and space. installed in a former theatre, ordinary domestic objects – a desk, floor lamp, table, lounge chair, and pendant lights – are experienced differently as a result of their intentional isolation and framing atop a stage.

far left: floor lamp by no. 111, made of metal, wood, and LED stripping back right: desk by eric jourdan, made of wood and steel tubing

as viewers move about the space, the changing angles, scale, and composition of objects in relation to each other encourages further rethinking of the the relationships that exist between objects, both in and out of ordinary space. no. 111 elaborates: distance ‘transform[s] the thing that is to be understood from something banal, known and immediately fixed, into something distinctive, unusual and unexpected.’

lounge chair by no. 111, made of wood, metal, and Deschemaker wool cloth pendant lights by no. 111, made of blown crystal

the work also plays with the notions of volume and mass of space, in both the varying size of the objects and also the effect that light has on their perception.

the work investigates the way in which lighting and composition affect mood, volume, and space. here, the same objects are assessed differently when observed from diverse vantage points.