'Somewhere Else (Ailleurs)’ explores the spirit of Expeditionism and adventurism

Joanna Malinowska, Fabrice Langlade and Luc Mattenberger are three artists who base their work on sojourns of a particular kind. They can be classified in the expeditionist genre. It’s about a journeys and destinations travel.

Malinowska was on an expedition to Arctic regions. Langlade intends to install on the Mongolian steppe a porcelain bridge, whereas Mattenberger is one who takes on the moon itself. Incidentally, they feature in a new exhibition, entitled ‘Somewhere Else (Ailleurs)’ at the gallery L’Espace Culturel Louis Vuitton, Paris.

As curator, Paul Ardenne, points out, “These artists feel the pressing need to relocate themselves in order to create. They do not establish or convey their visual (message) on any precise point of land, initially. They are rather concerned with wandering or moving about; they create while engaging in cultural roaming and physical nomadism.”The exhibition tries to reinforce this concept in its own way, demonstrating that migrations are not merely correlated to misery in the context of globalization, as we tend to believe. But they can be also for aesthetic purpose. A press release elaborates:

“The search for the Other, in its need for interaction, drives Yann Dumoget and
Marc Horowitzr. Lucy and Jorge Orta demonstrate a commitment to the abolition of
nationalities. The expedition also takes the form of the memory of a distant
experience, like that of artist Tïa-Calli Borlase.For Olivier Leroi and for Alix
Delmas, the somewhere else is not only geographical but also contextual.”

Expeditionism is essentially a modern investigation into the perennial philosophy of why we move away - in search of adventure or of self-discovery. It’s different from other ubiquitous artistic concepts associated with journeys and travel. Just to give an example, Bas Jan Ader, a Dutch conceptual artist, lost his life in search of a miracle - trying to conquer the Atlantic in a pocket cruiser, in 1975.

A growing number of artists nowadays choose ‘somewhere else’ as the setting for their adventurous creative endeavors. They travel back & forth, with or without a motive; create or base their art work outside of its conventional place of production - the studio or the gallery. In some cases, these ‘expeditionist’ artists well know where and why they are going. For them, it’s encountering new challenges, and exploring new spaces.

'Somewhere Else (Ailleurs)' is on display at L’Espace Culturel Louis Vuitton, Paris, till May 8, 2011.