Voies Off brings together independent initiatives that flourish on the margins of the Rencontres d’Arles. In 2017, these structures organised 141 exhibitions and other photography events.
To kick off the tour with enthusiasm, the series Cosmonaute! shows two children on an expedition into outer space. Through this series, Richard Petit, represented by the Galerie Voies Off, reconstructs a space journey, deliberately resorting to kitsch, and using the visual codes of the comic strip, animation, and B movie. This multimedia work questions the representation of “objective reality.”
The second part of the project, Le Futur antérieur, is a series of video testimonies of astronauts upon their return from an outer space mission. Due to space-time distortion, they got lost or suffered amnesia. The films are very short, deliberately minimalistic, and in reality they fall into the category of “anti-science fiction.” In contrast to elaborate big-budget shows that imply naïve belief in science and progress, Petit’s project narrates, with an aloof sense of humor, a story of technology that … doesn’t work.
Cosmonaute! plunges us into a world of child dreamers embarking on the discovery of the universe and its mysteries. They go very seriously about preparing their extraordinary voyage. From this world of possibilities, colorful and weightless, we proceed through the Galerie to the return journey of adult astronauts, lost and amnesiac, who scientifically bear witness to the senselessness of their quest.
Richard Petit, Cosmonaute!
July 3 to September 25, 2017
Galerie Voies Off
26 ter, rue Raspail
13200 Arles
France
