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Traces d'Avignon

Public Installation

Festival d'Avignon - 44th edition

Palais des Papes public square, Avignon, France (1991)

During the 44th Avignon Festival, contemporary artist Nasser Soumi presented a monumental yet fleeting performance. From 9 July to 3 August 1991, a pyramid of 4 meters in height was installed on the “ Place des Papes ”. Every day, Nasser Soumi “fed” the structure with leaflets, posters, programs and various elements that were collected on the site of the Festival. This was carried out with the participation of the public who took care of the daily recovery of the papers before handing them to the artist.

 

All those papers were then stuck and superimposed on the pyramid that got bigger, every day, and went through phases of transformation. In the heart of the pyramid, an obelisk in the form of a mechanical gondola was installed. The top of the pyramid opened to let this gondola reach the height of 12 meters. Nine performances were thus carried out with the actors, dancers,  musicians and hosts of the Festival.

Sylvie Plisson

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