Jeu de Paume is dedicating a solo exhibition to Bertille Bak, who was nominated for the 2023 Marcel Duchamp Prize. Titled ‘Abus de souffle’ and curated by Marta Ponsa, the exhibition brings together works created by Bertille Bak over the last ten years, along with her recent projects such as Mineur Mineur and the new work Abus de souffle, especially created for the exhibition and after which it is named.
In this exhibition, the artist explores themes of globalization, its cartography, and the resulting relationships of dependence and inequality. She seeks to elucidate the proliferation of connections between countries, juxtaposed with the paradoxical obstruction of borders.
Bertille Bak places the question of labor at the center of her projects. She calls upon pre-industrial know-how and means of production as acts of activism infused with a touch of whimsy and humor. Action prevails over aesthetics. Images are manipulated using hacked and low-tech special effects inspired by arcade games or techniques from primitive cinema. The result is a light-hearted tone, contrasting with the depth of the subjects addressed. Bertille Bak does not seek to create an illusion of plausibility but to unveil the behind-the-scenes of image construction and to alert the audience, in a tender and whimsical manner, that art is nothing but a simulacrum.
