Dans plusieurs de ces forêts et de ces bois, il n’y avait pas seulement des villages souterrains groupés autours du terrier du chef mais il y avait encore de véritables hameaux de huttes basses cachés sous les arbres, et si nombreaux que parfois la forêt en était remplie. Souvent les fumées les trahissaient. Deux de... 1993
Dimensions: object: 970 x 770 x 660 mm
Copyright: © Jimmie Durham | CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED, Photo: Tate
Editor: So, this curious sculpture, "Dans plusieurs de ces forêts…," by Jimmie Durham, looks like a contraption of found objects on a trolley. It has this chaotic, almost Dadaist feel. What do you see in this piece? Curator: It makes me think about discarded technology and how we assign value. Durham often used humor to explore weighty issues, right? This could be about the disposability of machines, contrasted with a longing for something more permanent, perhaps nature. Editor: I like that idea of disposability! Is that text a clue? Curator: Absolutely. It points to hidden villages, to things unseen. Durham asks us, is the natural world now hidden by our "progress?" Are we the chiefs in our underground bunkers, cut off from what sustains us? Editor: Wow, that's a lot to unpack. I see it in a whole new way now. Curator: Art, like life, has a funny way of doing that, doesn’t it?
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http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/durham-dans-plusieurs-de-ces-forets-et-de-ces-bois-il-ny-avait-pas-seulement-des-villages-t13290
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This is a composite sculpture made from a number of found objects and materials, including roughly-hewn wooden sticks, bone and a Coca Cola bottle. It takes the form of a strange-looking trolley-cum-machine, the purpose of which is ambiguous. The work has a lengthy French title, Dans plusieurs de ces forêts et de ces bois, il n´y avait pas seulement des villages souterrains groupés autours du terrier du chef mais il y avait encore de véritables hameaux de huttes basses cachés sous les arbres, et si nombreaux que parfois la forêt en était remplie. Souvent les fumées les trahissaient. Deux de ..., which translates as: ‘In many of these forests and woods, not only were there underground villages grouped around the chief’s burrow, but also, one could find true clusters of low-rise hamlets hidden under the trees, often so numerous that the forest could be full of them. Often smoke would betray their presence. Two of ...’. The title is taken from a piece of found text discovered by the artist and is attached to the handle of the trolley on a strip of white fabric. The work was originally titled Untitled but this was changed by Durham in 2009 to the current title, as was his original intention.
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