For Un Été Au Havre, Léo Fourdrinier offers a reinterpretation of his installation presented at the Lyon 2022 Biennale. Combining references to history and popular culture, the Mind and Senses Purified installation is inspired by Jacques Derrida's concept of "anthology", which describes a present world haunted by traces of the past. Named after the refrain of the famous clubbing song by the singer Gala, Freed From Desire, the artist has installed tiers of seats that allow visitors to sit facing the marina. On the right, an incredible view opens out onto the sea, while the city unfolds to the left. The seats are adorned with the inscription "Mind And Senses Purified", represented in luminous letters. This phrase is interpreted at this precise meeting point between the city and the sea. As the singer explains: "'Freed from desire' is a prayer. At the time, I wanted to change the world, to bring everyone together for one purpose. I wanted to gather the world around a song to explain that the original essence of evil is greed. This song is an invitation to follow your dreams without ever wasting time on material possessions. »
(Panoramic Sea) directly echoes a 1967 performance by artist Tadeusz Kantor.
Léo Fourdrinier's artistic practice explores different fields such as theatre, poetry and art history. By combining sciences, technology and references from mythology or pop culture – all in a lyrical universe – he invites the viewer to an emotional experience, an introspection.
