Arthur Poutignat
FRA
2. 6. 17:00 VR simulator
Secret Odyssey to the Wooden House project tells the story of the illegal slave trade in 19th century Togo through an immersive VR experience. The hybrid project is based on research into a UNESCO-listed monument, but in fact abandoned and in a state of decay, also reflecting the erosion of memory associated with this important chapter of human history. Using contemporary technologies, the artist develops a local narrative of the historical paradoxically under-explored contexts of the colonial practice that still bears its consequences in this strategic area of Agbodrafo (Porto Seguro).
The scenario of the virtual sequences is inspired by Kangni's historical novel Alema Esclaves (JC Lattès, 2009), where some of the characters are fictional. The content of the sequences is developed in conjunction with ethnographic research based on a collection of stories linked to the history of the secret slave trade and its contemporary reinterpretation, with an important role given to memory work.
An Art-based research in collaboration with Gaetan Noussouglo (theatre director, Togo), Marcel Djondo (theatre director, Togo), Michel Goehakue (historian, Togo), Kangni Alem (Writer, Togo), Bernard Muller (Anthropolgue, France) directed by Arthur Poutignat (visual artist, France) and programmed by Victor Schmidt (visual artist, France). With the kind autorisation of the use of text from Kangni Alem and as part of the larger theater project Zomayi.
The project is realized with the support of Région Grand Est
Arthur Poutignat is an intermedia artist who lives and works in Strasbourg. He has developed an artistic approach that places the invisible as a precondition for visibility. His research has led him to question and call upon a wide range of interdisciplinary and aesthetic fields. He has exhibited his work in France and abroad, in Brussels, Prague, Leipzig, Paris and Pilsen. He is the initiator and artistic director of the Mutant art festival, which is held annually in Strasbourg since 2011. His work has led him to take an interest in co-creation and art-based research questioning the relationship between the public, culture and the work of art outside the exhibition context.