alex israel's exhibition at MAMO projects the bat-signal over marseille’s sky

located on top of la cité radieuse — a housing residence in marseille designed by le corbusier in 1952 — MAMO (marseille modulor) is an open-air art centre that opened in 2013. the project, initiated by french designer ora ito, invites an artist to exhibit their work on both the interior and exterior spaces of the breathtaking roof every summer. for its seventh summer exhibition, MAMO arts centre, in partnership with RIMOWA, has invited los angeles-based artist alex israel to bring his iconographic artistic practice to the rooftop of the emblematic building. the show, which takes tim burton’s 1989 film batman as a starting point, is set to transform the french port city into gotham all summer.

designboom attended the opening of the exhibition and spoke with alex israel about the MAMO exhibition, his hollywood fixation and how the experience of art has shifted from in-person, to on-screen encounters.

for movie and comic enthusiasts, alex israel’s exhibition at MAMO is a dream come true. the artist — who is known for using movie props in his art pieces — has installed nothing less but gotham city police department’s bat signal. yes, we’re talking about the one that projects a large bat symbol onto the skies, used to summon batman to a scene.

‘the building, which is made out of concrete and has this hyper-urban sensibility, feels like something out of gotham city. and then when the idea of working with batman as a subject was born out of a conversation I had with ora ito, everything suddenly seemed to fit together perfectly. we could use this symbol, the batman logo, a symbol of hope, heroism, courage, danger, america and hollywood, a symbol that carries so much meaning, and put it above this city —marseille, which has its own mythology—and watch as meanings and lore aligned perfectly.’

marseille’s gritty history, together with le corbusier’s monumental concrete architecture, resulted in the perfect backdrop, not only for the bat signal, but also for the torpedo-shaped batmobile to join the show. ‘I think there are so many different ways you can approach working within a space that has so much history, aura and power. and one of them is to employ a subject that has similarly a lot of history and power and meaning. for me, batman was the perfect counterpoint to the architecture.’

once turned on, the bat signal becomes a third chimney, accompanying those originally envisioned by le corbusier. the strong beam exudes a sculptural, immaterial quality that plays with the architecture, adding yet another layer to the show and to the building. on the other hand, the batmobile — which is placed inside the dimly lit gymnasium space, hidden among clouds of smoke — turns the space into a bat cave, adding even more sense to the whole installation.

‘as an artist today I really have to think about two things when mounting an exhibition. first and foremost, what is the experience of the artwork in a physical space going to be? how do I create an experience that’s meaningful and physical, and that unfolds in real time for a visitor who comes to the space to see the show. and then I also have to think about the image of the exhibition and what that looks like, and how that translates across screens and platforms on social media. a lot of people, most people in fact won’t get to come and visit the show in person, but they still want to participate, and they still want to see the work and I think that’s great. it’s par for the course in our new world.’

image © designboom