Upon a time, 2013
Blue stone and bronze, ca 120 x 40 x 40 cm (each)

The three plinth-shaped sculptures from the series Upon a Time are made of solid stone, featuring on top a thin layer of bronze. The bronze has oxidized, and its residues have spilt down the stone to leave almost painterly marks. Each stone has been left in a different level of oxidation, marking a different amount of time during which it has been exposed to nature’s reactions. The works, strikingly beautiful in their accidental colouring, emanate a strong sense of absence, highlighting the void on top of each plinth. They negotiate the impossibility of representation as well as the passage of time.

Upon a Time est composé de trois socles en pierre recouverts d’une fine plaque de bronze oxydé. Sur ceux-ci, ne reposent pas de sculptures. Les supports deviennent sculptures. Les traces d’oxydation visibles sur leur surface accentuent le rapport entre le dispositif de monstration et son objet, ici absent. Fabrice Samyn nous confronte encore une fois à la question de l’impossible représentation, et au vide que l’œuvre d’art laisse derrière elle. Cette installation nous parle du passage du temps, de sa matérialité et du vide qu’il crée.