NADIA NAVEAU — FUNNY FIVE MINUTES

13.09.2018 – 28.10.2018


A shape that implodes seems to ask for a heavy figure to lie on it. A paw becomes a leg and a nose, a foot becomes a paw, a hand becomes a hat. Elements of earlier works articulate themselves in different constellations in space, and can therefore be read differently during the course of the visit. “This time it has no head” and “that's that leg again”. The sculptures partly assemble and transform themselves through their material properties. And when she doesn't quite know what to do, the phrase "to be goofing around", for her fluid logic, becomes enough to carefully sculpt Goofy.


By placing clay in that huge Goofy mould, all kinds of new prints are created, which find their place in a playful way; because the table is shaky, or she collides with the sculpture herself, or because the clay collapses. The clay sets its own conditions. At a certain point there is no longer a dispute with the 'thing' in formation; it self-explanes in a brief moment of sudden understanding, and the show is named after that light-heartedly absurd “funny five minutes” of refreshed attention.


As Òlafur Elìasson puts it “We believe in thinking doing, in the active imagination as an agent in the world, in shaping and being shaped by the world, in causing the world to wobble differently, depending on where we stand.” In this exhibition by Nadia Naveau, every movement in space is reflected in silver, copper and brass elements. With their reflection they emphasize the exterior of a sculpture, while other metal plates fold in on themselves and emerge perfectly from beneath a shell — the mould. Her multi-part pedestals intertwine indecipherably with the work. Nadia cuts form from art history and Millet jackets. The sculptures are subject, construction element and the starting point for every reasoning in the process.


Text by Céline Mathieu