Bris des Lumières

This is an installation project built between May 15 and June 15 at la Maison Patrimoniale de Barthète at Boussan, in France. La Maison Patrimoniale de Barthète is a private museum of historical tiles and pottery, mostly from the region.

My work was a response to a certain tile design called la grecque, or key pattern in tiles which forms a labyrinth image in the corner where it changes direction. I drew out the key pattern and altered it several times to come up with a general approach which breaks the key pattern out of the restricted repetitiveness as it appears in the tile work. I used reflective mylar and installed the flowing lines of reflecting pathways across three walls, embracing two windows in the gallery. A small segment of this “pattern-broken-free” image also appears on the wall across from the windows. This type of mylar reflects the pottery and tiles in the museum space as well as the viewers passing through. Viewers are seen viewing and may be reminded of their own contemplation or reflection on the works they are looking at. The installation is also reminiscent of the process of thinking as wandering and ethereal.

Visit the Barthète site for a review by Michael D’Encausse: http://www.barthete.com/manif2009.php