《All Men Are Islands》Salon Shows 2024 Oct Paris, France

Salon Exhibition
Date : 2024.10-　
City : Paris, France

Venue 1 : Novus Art Salon
Michelangelo Pistoletto, Antony Gormley, Anish Kappor, Susan Hiller, Kiki Smith, Jennifer Allora & Guillermo Calzadilla, Kimiyo Mishima, Season Lao…

Venue 2 : La Tour Maubourg

The title of the exhibition, “All men are islands,” is clearly a subversive reworking of John Donne’s original phrase, “No man is an island.”

In terms of definition, an island has clear physical boundaries, which seems to designate it as a closed entity, evoking the tragic narrative of Japan’s isolation during the Edo period, as reflected in the works of Season Lao. However, do these boundaries truly serve as obstacles to expansion, as we might assume? Take the Polynesians, for example. Despite the vast distances between Taiwan, Easter Island (Rapa Nui), and Hawaii, the Polynesians were still able to successfully explore and settle these relatively isolated islands. This fact suggests that, for them, the ocean was not an insurmountable barrier but rather a passage leading to new worlds. For the Polynesians, islands are “nodes” that connected one place to another, fostering inter-island trade, cultural exchange, and migration. In fact, the Polynesian sea routes represent a deep understanding and mastery of the sea. It shows the isolation of islands is really only a mental construct of boundaries and limitations in our minds.

Therefore, we might also view seafaring as a form of connection that transcends different dimensions. Just like Michelangelo Pistoletto’s use of mirrors to reflect both the inside and outside, where subject and object meet, he creates an “Espace temps,” where the mirror surface becomes a passage where time and space intertwine. Similarly, for Antony Gormley, sculpture is not confined to a given space or dimension; rather, it should create new spaces within existing ones, linking the known world to the unknown. Peihang Benoit, through painting, transcends the lockdowns imposed by the pandemic, taking herself into the deep realms of memory and imagination.

Finally, when we look at the photographs of Jennifer Allora & Guillermo Calzadilla, the figures inside are on a small boat, heading off into the vast ocean without a glance back, we can sense that the seemingly closed island always holds the potential to break through limits and lead to a new openness.

This statement excerpts from Novus Art Salon