RAYON VERT | ADÉLAÏDE FERIOT

Adélaïde Feriot (Libourne, 1985) is a French artist who, in her work, combines sculptures – created by herself – with performance.
Rayon vert is a work that Feriot has realized inspired by a suggestion, that of the green ray, as indicated in the title itself. The green ray is an optical phenomenon that can appear during sunrise or sunset over a sea horizon: when the sun is nearly completely hidden by the mass of water, at the right atmospheric conditions and for a brief moment, a green light ray shines on the horizon.
The observation of the ephemeral and almost magical nature of this optical phenomenon is associated by Feriot with a kind of meditative contemplation, providing her with the opportunity to create an equally suggestive work.

Rayon vert is composed of five silver masks. Each mask is made of aluminum and lead, and seems to be suspended in mid-air at eye level. From the closed eyes, two bands emerge, composed of multiple strips of white fabric that, as they descend toward the floor, change their color into various shades of purple before concluding in gray and deformed pedestals, resembling puddles. The overall image, as melancholic as it is unsettling, gives the impression that a spirit has been captured in a moment of desperate weeping. At the same time, the choice of fabric to represent the cascade of tears imparts a certain delicacy to the sculptures.

Once created, the masks require bodies to wear them and this is where the performers come into the scene: by staging the performance, they allow Feriot’s work to become complete. The five performers, one for each sculpture, position themselves in front of the masks and start to chant an evocative ancestral chorus.

Rayon vert represents the expression of a feeling that, thanks to the artist, takes tangible form. It is a process in which each step becomes essential in establishing a connection between the bodies involved: the artist creates the work, the performer brings it to life through a performance, and finally, the spectator is enveloped by the emotional power of this entire process.

Adélaïde Feriot
Rayon vert, 2021
Cast aluminium and lead, polyester, ink, 175 x 30 x 30 cm (x5 sculptures).
© Photo: Andrea Rossetti, courtesy the artist.

Adélaïde Feriot, Rayon vert, 2021.
Performance in occasion of the exhibition “Un Lac Inconnu” at Bally Foundation, Lugano 2023.
© Photo: Adélaïde Feriot, courtesy the artist.

02/12/2023