Le trouble esprit des formes

“Psychoarchitectures,” “Forêt épileptique,” “Trou noir” [“Black Hole”], “Traumathèque”: these few titles of works by Berdaguer & Péjus provide a glimpse into a world anything but serene. Borrowing from very different sources, from aesthetics to neurosciences to psychoanalysis, Berdaguer & Péjus bring into play a number of utopian constructions, changing points of view and distance.

The visitors of their exhibition “Insula,” presented last year at the IAC, could in turn witness scientific types of experimentation, believe they were transmitting energy, acknowledge their ordinary neuroses or imagine themselves as members in a virtual community. The visitors’ desire for an exhibition and what should be part of the show to satisfy this desire were questioned through experiences such as watching mobiles inspired by Rorschach tests from behind railings, feet planted in the sand; observing a germ-killing ultraviolet light from a porthole; projecting oneself into the model for a stealth rock or under the table on which it sits so as to disappear. Aren’t cultural sites also “gardens of addiction,” to mention the title of another work by Berdaguer & Péjus?

With their “Gue(ho)st House,” a spectacular metamorphosis of the building which houses learning activities and the artists’ residence at the Synagogue de Delme, Berdaguer & Péjus have made a brilliant display of how to work with the memory of the place.

Synagogue de Delme director Marie Cozette will present the history of this dream house and, perhaps, ask new questions from its designers.