CAC Brétigny

“Les conjugueuls”
Cycle of exhibitions and residencies
Curator: Valentina Ulisse

“Planetary memories”
With Giorgia Garzilli, Jérôme Girard, Hanna Kokolo, Clara Pacotte, Margot Pietri, Aliha Thalien and Joséphine Topolanski

Espace Brel, Donjon of Sainte-Geneviève-des-bois
13.04—05.05.24
Open from Wednesday to Friday, 2:00-6:00 p.m. and on Saturdays and Sundays, 10:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. and 2:00-6:00 p.m.

Now we have reached the third chapter of the “les conjugueuls” cycle of off-site exhibitions, we find ourselves in the last pages of the story.

The science fiction writer Joanna Russ refers to time as a “twisted braid”: every choice creates a set of possibilities, each movement of a molecule or quantum of light coinciding, somewhere, with another potential outcome. In this way, this exhibition was imagined like a meander through the multiverse: each floor of the building corresponds to a dimension parallel to our own, where we can explore “planetary memories”, real and fictional archives from other contemporary worlds or alternative futures.

Receipts guide us through this journey. Through the adventures of the trobairitz Maboule, Clara Pacotte reinvents local folklore. An anachronistic world takes shape, in which the Middle Ages and modernity merge, just like the melting pot of stories that is the Donjon de Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois.

On the ground floor, elements of architecture from different periods resemble archaeological remains. Teleprompters project animated images, like a hand trying to erase the indelible mark of a watch from its wrist. Margot Pietri tells us the story of a metropolis built on the ruins of capitalism: a society deprived of daylight, where time stands still and the life of the inhabitants has mutated.

Giorgia Garzilli, for her part,  guides us into an extraordinary reality. Here, seahorses live peacefully level with skyscrapers. Sometimes slipped into varnished bags, her paintings are made up of an archive of emotions, false memories and daydreams.

On the first floor, Aliha Thalien’s curtains of pearls are enchanted boundaries to be crossed. In her film, footage of a group of young people telling stories about their lives in Martinique alternates with blurred and mysterious landscapes. The artist transports us into a magical atmosphere where personal memories, intergenerational mythologies and collective history intertwine.

Hanna Kokolo, in the role of the prophetess ZokoHastra, came back from Earth in the year 3000 to share with us divergent accounts of the “end of the world”. Her narratives are accompanied by uchronia artefacts, bearing witness to possible futures.

On the second floor, Jérôme Girard’s works are the archives of a futuristic fanfare band he co-created with a group of children receiving extra school help through a social centre in Égly. Together, they composed a concert for USOs (“Unidentified Sonic Objects”) and marched in old-fashioned costumes. Their celestial coat of arms, sewn by the artist, awaits a new space parade.

There are no ladies or knights to be found in Joséphine Topolanski’s jacquard tapestry, but clusters of galaxies. The first follower of an extraterrestrial cult, the artist has created here a memorial out of cosmic decors, ufology findings and stellar altars.

After studying art history at the university La Sapienza in Rome and Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Valentina Ulisse completed a professional Master’s 2 degree in “Contemporary art and its exhibition” at Sorbonne Université and co-founded the curatorial collective espace projectif. Alongside her studies, she trained in the exhibition profession through internships at the Centre Pompidou, CAC Brétigny and Council, among others. Today, Valentina Ulisse continues her work through her various activities within the organisation of art projects, writing and cultural mediation. She assists gallery owner Aline Vidal with whom she organises “De(s)rives”, a curatorial project that experiments with exhibition formats outside of traditional artistic contexts. Valentina Ulisse is interested in art economies, in alternative systems of production and dissemination and in co-creative artistic practices related to pedagogy and popular knowledge. 

Giorgia Garzilli (born 1992) is an Italian artist who lives and works between Naples and Milan. After studying documentary film, she went on to graduate from the Haute école d'art et de design de Genève before attending the Mountain School of Arts in Los Angeles. Her paintings explore the frontier between everyday reality and the depths of the subconscious. Her work was presented at MACRO in Rome in 2021 and at the Triennale Milano in 2023.

Jérôme Girard (born 1993) lives and works in Paris. A graduate from the École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs de Paris, his work mixes sound creation, live performance and installation. Often using salvaged materials, he draws inspiration from and then diverts traditional forms and gestures. He won the student prize COAL and the Prix de la Casa de Velásquez - EnsAD in 2021. His work has been exhibited at several art centres, including CAC Brétigny, Bétonsalon in Paris in 2021 and the Vincent Van Gogh foundation in Arles in 2022.

Hanna Kokolo (born 1997) lives and works in Paris. After studying applied arts, she graduated from the École nationale supérieure d’art de Bourges (ENSA) in 2021. Her multidisciplinary pieces explore the issue of intergenerational memory through characters she embodies and depicts in works of autofiction. Her work was exhibited at the 66th Salon de Montrouge in 2022 and in a solo exhibition at the Graineterie in Houilles in 2023.

Clara Pacotte (born 1992) is an artist, author and filmmaker who lives and works in the Paris region. Graduating from the École nationale supérieure d'arts de Paris-Cergy in 2017, she depicts real and imagined archives in her work. She regularly collaborates with other artists on research and publishing projects. With Charlotte Houette, she created EAAPES, a research group focused on feminism in science fiction. Supported by CNAP, Fondation des Artistes, Lafayette Anticipations and CAC Brétigny, this project has seen the production of several publications, films and workshops.

Margot Pietri (born 1990) lives and works in Aubervilliers. Graduating from the École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts de Lyon in 2014, she develops work in science fiction story writing and sculpture. These pieces take the form of technological relics from a time that could be ours, somewhere between a past that hasn’t been assimilated and a future that is uncertain. Chosen for the Révélation Emerige grant in 2019, she has presented her work as part of group shows at the Thaddeus Ropac gallery in Pantin in 2017 and at Art-O-Rama in Marseille in 2021, as well as in solo exhibitions at the Institut d’Art Contemporain in Villeurbanne in 2020 and at La Serre in Saint-Etienne in 2023.

Aliha Thalien (born 1994) lives and works in Montreuil. Currently a student at Le Fresnoy, she graduated with a master's degree in cinema from the Sorbonne as well as from the École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts de Paris. Her work in film, installation and sculpture focuses on trauma at an individual, family and community level. Her pieces take the form of fictional stories based on real archive material. In 2019, she directed her first short film Feu Soleil, which was selected for the film festivals Rencontres du Moyen-Métrage in Brive and La Cabina in Valence. Her work was also shown at the Villa Magdalena in Hambourg in 2022, and in a solo exhibition at Confort Mental in Paris in 2023.

Joséphine Topolanski (born 1998) lives and works in the Paris region. After studying printed image at the École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs de Paris, from which she graduated in 2021, she turned her attention to weaving and textiles. Her work questions the boundary between fiction and reality by focusing on belief systems and their relationship to truth. She was awarded an honourable mention from the jury of the Révélation Design ADAGP prize in 2021. The following year, her work was presented at 100% L’Expo at the Grande Halle de La Villette and was added to the Pantin city collection. 

The exhibition “Les conjugueuls #3: Planetary memories” is supported by the Italian cultural institute of Paris.