Embrasser la paysage, installation par l'artiste Areneca

2015

Embrace the Scenery: A Facility for Brushing Your Teeth

I like the idea of inserting artifacts into the environment that can deviate someone from their usual trajectory, leading them towards alternative thoughts. In short, parasitizing one’s mind to show that a different world, perhaps more poetic, can exist. Without premeditation, I set up a toothbrush, a cup, and some toothpaste on the top of a mountain. Now you can consider embracing the scenery with clean teeth. Unfortunately, this installation was quickly vandalized and removed. Neo Valen

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Neo Valen is known for his unconventional and provocative installations, and one of these works involves placing mundane objects in extraordinary places. At an altitude of more than 2000 meters, on the top of a remote mountain, the artist installed and cemented into the ground a toothbrush and a cup for rinsing his mouth. It’s an act of subversive humor that also carries a thoughtful message.

At first glance, this installation may seem fanciful, a fun joke about the human need for hygiene, even in the most unlikely places. However, a deeper layer of interpretation suggests a commentary on how our daily rituals are bizarrely out of place, or unexpectedly present, outside of their usual context.
The artist seems to invite us to reflect on the absurdity of our societal norms, disturbing the silence and majestic natural landscape with mundane objects that usually belong in our bathrooms. It invites viewers to question how we compartmentalize our lives and tasks, and how context can dramatically affect our perception of the simplest objects.
This installation, like many of Valen‘s other works, is a testament to his ability to use the art of systemic subversion to disrupt our routines and inspire us to see our world from a different perspective.

Neo Valen