Sophie Kaplan
Director of La Criée centre d'art contemporain
The Lili, la rozell et le marimba cycle explores the connections between contemporary art and vernacular practices and knowledge. It took place in Rennes at La Criée Centre d'Art Contemporain from September 2019 to August 2022 through exhibitions, events, and residencies, as well as within the pages of a revue of which this is the fourth issue.
Vernacular cultures express themselves within communities, shaped by their specific customs, unlike vehicular forms that spread uniformly and detached from any particular context. The vernacular aspect of art could thus be defined by practices where context plays a decisive role. At a time when even the planetary scale seems too narrow and universalist thought has revealed the limits of its supposed neutrality, multiple localized countercultures are now emerging. These movements express a desire to adapt to precise cultural units, to embed themselves in peripheral spaces, and to speak the languages of a given territory.
These forms of vernacular renewal act as a means of grounding, integration, and even slowing down. As gaps widen between localized expressions and a hegemonic culture in free circulation, underground connections link these localities to others across the world. The tensions between vernacular and vehicular forms shape our collective imaginaries, whether we believe in the autonomy of art or in its power to invent alternative forms.
This revue explores languages: mother tongues and adopted ones, confiscated languages and dominant ones, invented languages, whispered languages, blended languages. It delves into their movements, their struggles, their divergences, their writings, and their encounters.
It consists of conversations (Marianne Mispelaëre with Sophie Kaplan, Vir Andres Hera with Minia Biabiani, Jocelyne Dakhlia with Katia Kameli, Zineb Sedira with John Cornu and Emma-Charlotte Gobry-Laurencin), portfolios (Rester. Étranger, Petrit Halilaj, Marianne Mispelaëre, ayoh kre, lettres asilaires), and journeys through languages (Lukian Kergoat, Baptiste Brun).
Download the revue for free here ↓