Metamorphoses

The opening of this exhibition marks the reopening of the gallery after several months of refurbishment. The title "Métamorphoses*" was chosen to illustrate the changing forms, structures and appearances of the space and the works on display. To mark the occasion, a number of works by the APY community, recently featured in the Songlines exhibition at the Musée du Quai Branly-Jacques Chirac, were presented alongside historic pieces by emblematic desert artists.

Contemporary Aboriginal art, despite its eminently modern dimension, draws its inspiration from the living memory of the creation of Australia known as the "Dreamtime" - a set of myths shared by all Aborigines and evoking the appearance of Great Ancestors ("Lightning Spirits", demigods, animals and even plants) who emerged from the original magma to shape the continent in their own image, give birth to tribes and establish social and religious laws and customs. On the verge of extinction, the great ancestors left the various clans with a reminder of their role in the creation of Australia: it's up to them to celebrate and resurrect it during ritual ceremonies, transposed into various artistic forms since 1971. This exhibition takes you along the labyrinthine paths of these metamorphoses, inviting you to follow in the footsteps of the rainbow snake.

*METAMORPHOSIS (feminine noun)
Etymology: 14th century. Borrowed, via Latin, from the Greek metamorphôsis, with the same meaning.
1. A change of form, nature or state which, in legend or marvellous stories, is brought about by some supernatural cause. The metamorphoses of genies and fairies. Refers in particular to the transformations by which the gods of mythology assume different appearances in the eyes of mortals or change one of them from its natural form to another. The metamorphoses of Zeus and Proteus. The metamorphosis of Daphne into a laurel, but also: The Metamorphoses, by Ovid (1st century AD); The Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka (1915).
2. In zoology: a change of form and structure that occurs during development in certain insects and other animals. The metamorphosis of a tadpole into a frog. The transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly is a complete metamorphosis.
3. Fig. A striking change in a person's appearance, attitude or character. The metamorphoses of an actor.

PREVIEW
Thursday 14th March from 5pm to 9pm

VERNISSAGE
Saturday 16 March from 3pm to 6pm

Exhibition "Metamorphoses"
Until 11 May 2024
Monday to Saturday, 10am to 6pm
13 rue Chapon 75003 PARIS