Daniel Corbeil

ESPACES NORDIQUES
01.11–02.04.1996

Simulating the signs of a reality that isn’t one; building airplanes incapable of flight; creating kayaks that can never sail; making them travel impossible distances; exploring an invented territory; wandering through inaccessible industrial or urban sites; taking aerial photographs that aren’t really aerial photographs—these are the multiple premises of a game of simulacra where the false takes on the appearance of the real in my creative work.

The simulacrum, in my work, aims to create reality or suggest its existence. This tool is used for its ability to abolish the boundary between reality and imagination. It becomes a means of initiating the creative process and fueling the act of making. I thus intend to disguise reality through a game of making that simulates construction methods borrowed from the industrial or technological world (means of transport and means of communication). My interest lies in reappropriating the signs of reality in order to better demystify it (airplanes, kayaks, means of transport, and aerial photographs). Understanding the symbols and signs of reality means using them as tools for creative research. Mystifying the public about the true origin and function of the objects presented is an attempt to seduce them, forcing them to question the why and how of such a subversion. Confused the viewer then becomes a way to allow them to draw upon their own memories and experiences, leading them to reclaim their imagination. These are all propositions linked to an artistic practice concerning the simulacrum and its numerous theoretical and practical implications.