For the Immaterial Salon, Salle Principale presents two sound pieces by Elsa Werth.

 

The sound piece Abracadabra (2022) confronts two opposing universes: that of magic and that of everyday life. This sound piece is built on the repetition of a magic spell associated with sounds that refer to our environment, but without being immediately recognizable.

 

In Give and Take (2021), the English expression « Give and Take » is the starting point of a new sound work about language and exchanges between people. It is based on the combination of these two terms which both oppose and complement each other. This sound piece is like a dialogue. It’s composed exclusively of common expressions that start with the word « give » or « take ». For example:

Give way / Take place

Give a hard time / Take a shower

(…)

There is no logic in this string of sentences. They link together different and unexpected issues. By so they echo today’s transactions where everything is sold and everything is bought. 

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

 

Elsa Werth is engaged in 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 mfc-michèle didier (Paris), Interface (Dijon), Centre d’art de l’Onde (Vélizy-Villacoublay), gallery Martine Aboucaya (Paris). Group shows include Coimbra Biennial (Coimbra), Été 78 (Brussels), Société (Brussels), Creux de l’Enfer (Thiers).