French duo Murmure composed of Paul Ressencourt and Simon Roche,two drawing enthusiasts who have been working in public spaces since 2010, were until recently in Stavanger, Norway for this year’s Nuart Festival.
Working on a human scale and with an acute eye for placement, Murmure privilege the relationship to space rather than visibility. Their collages create singular urban scenes by interacting with their specific location and, while often ephemeral, their scale and accessibility to the passerby imbue them with great substance.
During the course of the festival they created three pieces; Love is in The Air, Moss Forest and Urban Muse. Three works that combine cleverness
´Love is in the air´ is a humorous skit that evokes a meeting between two urban travellers: one formerly used by man for message delivery, the other representing the future of this service. So near and yet so far, the pigeon cannot remain unmoved by its contemporary counterpart. As the artists explain: “Drones have developed enormously in recent years and are entering all areas of everyday life. They are wonderful tools but also tap into our darkest fears, crystallising all the fantasies and anxieties we have about our own technological advances – social networks being the perfect example. Used in everything from fashion shows to street art, the drone seems destined to become ever more visible in our lives. It is only a matter of time before they eventually invade the urban space, transforming our behavior as have all other technological advances.”
´Moss forest´ takes its inspiration from this year´s festival theme (Space is the Place and, in particular, the re-appropriation of urban space by nature). “We noticed during our walks around Stavanger the presence of these mosses on the walls and so we imagined a plane unloading its fluorescent orange content to save, rather than destruct, this miniature forest.”
Lastly, ´Urban Muse´ depicts an illustration of a homeless person rendered in fine detail on even finer paper. “The realization of portraits of homeless people elevates them to the rank of models, icons even: through a pronounced artistic treatment they become our muses. Time, climate and human intervention are what will ultimately complete the work and make it unique.”
About the artists
Artistic Director and Technical Director, Paul Ressencourt and Simon Roché interact with the urban environment and create singular and poetic scenes. Working in both disciplines with passion, the two artists break down the boundaries between art and communication. Both disciplines interacting and feeding each other continuously.
Sometimes playful, dreamlike or poetic, these black and white drawings are made in scale and then shot in limited series. The installations interact with the environment thanks to the realism obtained by the technique of the black stone. The work of a drop shadow unhooks the characters from the wall and gives depth to the installation.
Thus, the drawings are not related to a specific place, but they are realised to be able to be live in different places and urban spaces. The drawing is only the first step of the work. The search for new spaces, the play with the elements and urban hazards make the singularity of each of them.
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Author: Fran
Founder and editor of Urbanite. Street Art lover who after the finishing her MA thesis on the Mexican and Norwegian muralist movement in the 1920-50s, developed a fascination for street art and graffiti that eventually led to collaborations with different art blogs, including the creation of this one.
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