Salle Principale presents sound pieces by Matthieu Saladin and Elsa Werth.

The sound pieces of the two artists question in their own way the stock market, financial and geopolitical stakes which oscillate between promises and apprehension, in a turbulent current event. For his piece ‘Panoramique des obligations’ (2016), Matthieu Saladin makes two voices heard, that of a woman and that of a man, who refer to each other the interest rates of all the world’s sovereign debts in the aftermath of the Greek referendum of 5 July 2015, in the manner of a stereophonic ping-pong. Elsa Werth proposes the sound piece ‘Auction’ (2020) which consists of a decreasing auction, starting at 26 million dollars and ending at 1 million… Her second sound piece, ‘Anywayland’ (2019), consists in the enumeration of all the common nouns beginning with the letter A, in alphabetical order, to which the term « land » has been systematically added. Starting the list with ‘Aland’, then to be considered as a generic land, follow the words Abackland, Abaftland, Abandonland, Abandonmentland… Built on the same structure as the names of real countries such as Switzerland, Greenland, Holland, Poland, these 1349 terms, although fictional, make sense. They make different metaphorical registers follow one another, evoking alternately freedom, oppression, absurdity, triviality, abstraction, exoticism.

Matthieu Saladin

Born in 1978, lives and works in Paris and Rennes (France).

Matthieu Saladin is an artist and musician. His practice takes place in a conceptual approach and often uses sound. He is interested in the production of spaces, the  history of artistic forms and creative process, and in the relationships between art and society from a political and economic point of view. It takes the form of sound installations and performances as well as publications (books, records), videos and software. He is associate professor in sound art at University Paris 8. He is editor in chief of TACET and works in Volume! and Revue & Corrigée.

Recent solo exhibitions include BBB centre d’art (Toulouse) and gallery Salle Principale (Paris). Group shows include Frac des Pays de la Loire (Carquefou), Lokal-Int (Bienne), Erste Campus (Vienna) and Synesthésie-MMaintenant (Saint-Denis).

Elsa Werth

Born in 1985, lives and works in Paris (France).

Elsa Werth is engaged in a multidimensional work : installation, sculpture, video, artist’s book and sound. Through an economy of means, she claims non-spectacular gestures as resistance tactics. She diverts words, objects and gestures from their common use. Her approach counters commodity production and challenges normalized information. Thus questioning the criteria for works of art to exist in an environment where representations are standardized.

Recent solo exhibitions include Bloom (Düsseldorf), mfc-michèle didier (Paris), Interface (Dijon), Centre d’art de l’Onde (Vélizy-Villacoublay), gallery Martine Aboucaya (Paris). Group shows include Frac des Pays de la Loire (Carquefou), Coimbra Biennial (Coimbra), Été 78 (Brussels), Société (Brussels), Creux de l’Enfer (Thiers).