“Shine on you crazy diamond” refers to the song by Pink Floyd written in 1975. Developing the theme of “the extreme absence to which some people are tempted to yield, because that is the only way for them to endure sadness of modern life, to withdraw completely”, this piece pays tribute to the founding member of the band, Syd Barrett.
For her third solo exhibition at Archiraar Gallery, Élodie Huet again speculates through artefacts designed to improve our contemporary comfort. She reminds us that even we make daily calls to manufactured objects, we care little about their fate after use. This disposable material (directly after use or after a fashion effect) exists only to satisfy our “need” to fit our interiors. By employing only a tiny part of this standardized production, Élodie Huet emphasizes its excess. In a society where everything seems pre-established, almost running on empty, we get used to live “like everybody else”. However, the free repetition of these epiphenomena invites us to renew our actions with a full awareness of their potential.
The work of French artist Elodie Huet is marked by simplicity and the economy of material and shape. She uses objects from daily life and places them into unexpected situations, giving each a voice through sensitive experiences. However, this quest to essentiality arises from an ironic creation, an initial illusion. This intentional decoy urges the artist to repeat precisely and to create “for nothing and forever“. It’s the difficult wisdom allowed by the absurd thoughts. Elodie Huet unites, questions, goes across, around, and tears down the globalized form and color codings made up by man for our domestic living. An object’s unsubstantiated aspect plays a major role. Implying the esthetic potential of every object, she jokinglyplays with chain made materials and makes amusing links between philosophy and pragmatism.
Moreover, she questions the place of art in our everyday lives. We need to choose if art is essential to man or merely entertainment, decoration or a commercial item. By finding out the cultural background that is hidden behind the notion we may have of an object and so trying to establish how an object would present itself to us clean, uninterpreted, Elodie Huet is on a mission to decipher the multiple points of view that man has on objects and materials.
Élodie Huet has shown her work in solo exhibitions at Cheval Noir (Brussels), Maison des Arts Actuels des Chartreux (MAAC ‐ Brussels), Atelier 10B (La Plaine Saint‐Denis ‐ France), FRAC Nord‐Pas‐de‐Calais & Palais de l’Univers et des Sciences (Dunkerque France), Tetem (Enschede Netherlands) and Casino Luxembourg. Her group exhibitions include Été 78 (Brussels), MAAC (Brussel), CIAC (Bourbourg ‐ France) Galerie Jeune création (Paris), Galerie 22.48 m2 (Paris), Galerie Nathalie Obadia (Paris) and Galerie de Joaillerie Mazlo (Paris) among others.