magnetic tape transforms bordeaux chapel into a tunnel of blurred boundaries

from now through august 20, the french city of bordeaux is hosting liberté!, a season of artistic projects and programs set across the urban landscape that center around the theme of creative freedom. josé-manuel gonçalvès has curated an artistic itinerary that seeks to transform bordeaux into an open-air laboratory of expression, with highlights including musical cruises, performances, and artistic installations that work in dialogue with the city.

as part of liberté!, artist žilvinas kempinas has deployed his signature medium of magnetic tape across two emblematic sites — chapelle du crous, and the docks of bordeaux.

all images by pierre planchenault

always in search of new spaces and new stories, kempinas presents — for the first time in france — two installations recreated in-situ made from long stretches of magnetic tape. the first unfolds within the historic chapelle du crous as a tunnel of tape within which visitors can walk, and be drawn deeper into the site of worship. viewers are enveloped in a semi-transparent passage made of carefully placed tape strips that blurs and distorts views of the surrounding chapel. 

simultaneously at the docks of bordeaux, kempinas has created an urban corridor made from tape that follows a pedestrian pathway along the water. walking beneath the installation, visitors are encouraged to visualize the surroundings through the strips of tape, with alternating currents creating a visual vibration that transforms typical perceptions of space.

read more about liberté! and the projects presented as part of the program, here.

project info: 

artist: žilvinas kempinas

presented as part of: liberté!

curated by: josé-manuel gonçalvès 

program duration: june 20 – august 20, 2019