The immortals are still there, proud, defying time and the sun. O standing warrior by Senegalese sculptor Ousmane Sow. Egyptian womenAND The Green Wallby his compatriot Ndary Lo. The abandoned mother by Congolese Freddy Tsimba. There are also, in the powdery light of the Luberon, pieces of Africa scattered here and there: a Senegalese canoe with characteristic colors, a colorful minibus, revised and corrected by the Beninese artist Dominique Zinkpé (The bus). This is proof that we are right at the entrance of the Blachère Foundation, which has been dedicated to contemporary African art since 2003.
Inaugural exhibition
And if we have not recorded the locations well, it is because the foundation abandoned – at the time of celebrating its twenty years of existence – the industrial zone of Bourguignons, in Apt (south of France) where, attached to the facilities of the company Blachère illuminations (turnover of 50 million euros in 2021) from which it originated, has already hosted around fifty exhibitions in 20 years.
From now on, these will be presented in the old Bonnieux station which now houses its new facilities, designed by architect Zette Cazalas, in the heart of the Luberon. Chimeraswhich brings together works by around twenty African artists until November 18, is in some an inaugural exhibition… continuing an approach that has, to date, allowed more than 400 creators to benefit from artistic residencies.
“The Rusty Word”, 2019-2022, installation, various materials. © Dak'art
For Christine Allain-Launay Blachère, who took over the management of the foundation created by her father, “it’s about placing it a little more in the center of traffic routes and reaching a wider audience”. Although it is only a few kilometers away, Bonnieux benefits from a greater tourist bonanza and international transaction.
New beginning
The old station was purchased from Pierre Cardin's family: the French designer, who passed away in 2020, owned several plots of land and buildings in the region, namely Château de Lacoste (known as Château du Marquis de Sade) which hosts a festival dedicated to to music and theater.
The daughter of Jean-Paul Blachère, who is also the curator of the exhibition Chimeras, presided over the change: nine months of work, three million euros of investment. At the beginning of July 2023, the foundation is ready to receive visitors again. And this, under the benevolent eye of his father, the founding head of a company that launched its sponsorship activities in 2003 – three years after the discovery of a retrospective on contemporary African art in Lille.
Chimeras result of exploring the limits between reality and imagination and immerses the visitor in a world populated by hybrid creatures with metaphorical accents
In the gardens of the old station, some of the 2,000 works in the collection greet the visitor. Regulars recorded most of them, but they also noticed a new visitor: a giant metal grasshopper, both friendly and scary.
This is the work of Mauritanian Oumar Ball, 38 years old, born in Bababé and currently resident at the foundation. The title of the exhibition comes from him, which is also that of one of his works created in 2021. “The theme of the exhibition germinated in Ouagadougou, when Oumar Ball won the first jury prize at the Ouagadougou International Sculpture Biennial (Biso) , for his sculpture Chimera »specifies the foundation's press release.
“Innovative and inclusive” approach
This rusty metal work represents a hyena vulture, or a hyena devouring a vulture in mid-flight, depending on the interpretations… “These are two of my favorite animals”, explains Oumar Ball. They were very present in the stories of my childhood. These are creatures who live together and are not friends. »
A skilled visual artist, Ball manages to create feathers of great lightness from old metal sheets corroded by time. “I come from a pastoral village on the banks of the Senegal River,” he says. There were many animals, as there were also many in the stories my grandmother told me. My world is rocked by this atmosphere. When I was little, I made my toys out of pieces of metal. Over time, it became something else. But when I create, this child dictates what I do, and I don't want to leave that childhood. »
Furthermore, the choice of the exhibition's theme reflects the foundation's guidelines, which aim to offer an “innovative and inclusive” approach, and distrust of overly elitist choices. For the commissioner, “Chimeras result of exploring the limits between reality and imagination; immerses the visitor in a world populated by hybrid creatures with metaphorical touches. »
When works are completed
Certain job specifications work especially well. Thus, the paintings by Senegalese Aliou Diack (Oh Tracker, 2016) combine with the rusty tones of Oumar Ball's sculptures and make the grunts of nocturnal forest animals heard, for those who can hear. From darkness and dark matter, Senegalese Soly Cissé (Untitled) and Omar Bá (There Pandora's box, 2013) give rise to hybrid creatures, half human, half animal. A theme that Togolese Sadikou Oukpedjo also explores (Animal Man2017) with its strange and massive beings.
Some confrontations even reveal surprises, like the one between Seyni Awa Camara, “the potter of Casamance”, and her highly femininity terracottas (Fertility2017) and the very sexual and very masculine creations of Congolese artist Gastineau Massamba (Gargoyle).
Those who prefer more abstract works will undoubtedly find the cuttings by South African Lyndi Sales (Chimera, 2023) and Barbara Wildenboer. The latter thus offers a colorful and exuberant painting entitled From the sleep of reason monsters are borncomposed with reference to a work by Francisco de Goya (The Sleep of Reason generates monsters ), and a work by Alexandre Cabanel (The born of Venus). Is art history ultimately nothing more than chimeras?
“From the sleep of reason monsters are born”, 2023. Paper collage on Dibond by artist Barbara Wildenboer. © Jérémie Pitot/Blachère Foundation
Chimeras, Blachère Foundation art center, Bonnieux station, until November 18, 2023.
€5 entry, free for minors 12 years.
