12 Jul 2013

Ria Pacquée at Treignac Projet

Treignac Projet presents a selection of video, performance, and photographic work by Antwerp-based artist Ria Pacquée. The exhibition draws from a practice that has spanned over 25 years, exploring themes of nomadism, ritualisation, and the cross-currents of different cultures. The exhibition includes her significant 2005 work Inch'Allah; a work that brings together a myriad of images that have been collected during the artist's wanderings in various countries throughout the world. The work is set to an audio soundtrack that is equally eclectic, including spoken phrases from The Book of Questions by the philosopher Edmond Jabés.

'Inch'Allah also represents a continuation of the artist's ongoing travels and it is this formative process that is reflected in Streetrambling Rituals; a video sequence of still images that capture isolated moments of religious worship in everyday life, from an elderly man bathing in the sacred Ganges River to a woman prostrating herself on a neatly manicured lawn. These instances of meditation and prayer disrupt the normal patterns of everyday life, imbuing the commonplace with a sense of the mystical. Ria Pacquée's practice relies on her presence as an observer and recorder of her surroundings. Her heightened perception of these unexpected instances of ritual and worship represents a sort of pilgrimage in its own right. She seeks out the sacred, the spiritual, and channels it back, through her work, to the viewer.' - Chris Clarke.

Ria Pacquée is presented concurrently with the group exhibition O Chair O Flesh, that also features her work Shooting into the Sun (2011), alongside artists Fabienne Audeoud, Fleur van Dodewaard, Christian Jankowski, Bea McMahon, Kaspar Oppen Samuelsen, Ria Pacquée, Xavier Ribas, Florian Roithmayr, John Russell, Allan Sekula, Morten Torgersrud, Francis Upritchard, Anne de Vries.

In addition to the works presented in the exhibition, the artist will be giving a performance on 3rd August, between 18:00 and 20:00. The event is free, but booking is recommended. Please contact info@treignacprojet.org to reserve a place or for further information.

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Treignac Projet is a public exhibition space situated on the Plateau de Millevaches, Limousin, France. Since 2007, Treignac Projet has developed exhibitions with artists such as Bedwyr Williams, Luxury Logico, Alasdair Duncan, and N'krumah Lawson Daku, as well as pedagogical projects such as The New International School (2007 - 10), led by Shahin Afrassiabi, and The Matter of Contraction (2012), featuring Graham Harman and Timothy Morton, and developed in collaboration with the Centre international d'art et du paysage de l'île de Vassivière.

Ria Pacquée is organised by Chris Clarke, and produced with the support of the Flemish Authorities. The exhibition is part of the Treignac Projet 2013 exhibition programme directed and curated by Matt Packer, supported by Office of Contemporary Art, Norway; Norwegian Embassy in Paris; The Danish Arts Foundation; Parc Naturel Régional de Millevaches en Limousin; Conseil Général de la Corrèze; Conseil Régional de la Corrèze; la Mairie de Treignac; Arts Council England and British Council.