The idea behind the exhibition Désordre sacré stems from a collective and general reflection by the curatorial team on the contexts in which CAN is set, whether related to the history of the art center itself, its factory past or its geographical location. In this case, the theme of the Middle Ages was inspired by its location in the heart of Neuchâtel’s old town and beneath its castle, where elements of medieval architecture can still be seen. The works exhibited here, all created in the 21st century, were brought together because some of their characteristics seemed to be rooted in this medieval soil.
It’s a well-known fact that the first vision that shaped our idea of the Middle Ages dates back to the Renaissance, which sought to reconnect with lost Antiquity by leaping across it. Beyond its obvious artificiality – it seems reductive to unite nearly a thousand years of history under a single name – it has become a historical period that can be understood and studied for its own sake, within its many regional elements. In the context of global history, the Middle Ages thus appear as a specific period (generally situated between the beginning of the 5th and the end of the 15th century) and a specific region of the world that could be described as strictly “european”. Many states can lay claim to a medieval origin, and have sometimes used it to construct their idea of the nation in contemporary times. However, it is important to exclude any mythical genealogy, since the plurality of experiences, the discontinuity of temporalities and the scale of social, cultural and territorial changes have been transformative elements over the long term. This is why we must not confuse historical realities with fantasies.
Today, we see this “reinvented Middle Ages” everywhere in pop culture as rich, gigantic imagery. And whatever the reasons for this surge, the choice of aesthetic and narrative elements featured in these reinventions is of particular interest, as it says much more about our contemporary times than about the historical period itself; just as, through the futuristic visions of science fiction, our society projects itself into this distorting mirror, with its fears and aspirations. This imagery is therefore less anodyne, superficial and, above all, far more political than it might at first appear.
Contemporary art, as a more marginal cultural marker, is also a means of understanding the questioning of an era; it is permeable to popular influences, and this taste for the medieval certainly marks the imagination of artists. What aesthetic elements or “medieval” aspects appear in contemporary works of art, and in what ways? What figures or techniques are taken up by artists? And to what end? The exhibition uses these questions as a common thread, and auempts to find clues through works that are, moreover, highly diverse in terms of both technique and theme.
Désordre sacré, exhibition view, CAN Centre d’art Neuchâtel, 2024Slavs and Tatars, Sanft Power (detail), 2022Slavs and Tatars, Sanft Power, 2022Désordre sacré, exhibition view, CAN Centre d’art Neuchâtel, 2024Kasper Bosmans, Odinn Always Winking (One Blue Eye) (left), 2024. Odinn Always Winking (right), 2024, Courtesy of the artist and Gladstone GalleryDésordre sacré, exhibition view, CAN Centre d’art Neuchâtel, 2024Gaia Vincensini, Synchronized Chaos Solution, 2023Gaia Vincensini, Synchronized Chaos Solution, 2023Gaia Vincensini, Synchronized Chaos Solution, 2023Désordre sacré, exhibition view, CAN Centre d’art Neuchâtel, 2024Désordre sacré, exhibition view, CAN Centre d’art Neuchâtel, 2024Désordre sacré, exhibition view, CAN Centre d’art Neuchâtel, 2024Zuzanna Czebatul, A Trillion Threads Still Wea- ving (Four Veils), 2023, Sans titre gallery, ParisZuzanna Czebatul, A Trillion Threads Still Wea- ving (Green Veil), 2023, Sans titre gallery, ParisSina Oberhänsli, swaying lights, 2020Sina Oberhänsli, swaying lights, 2020Désordre sacré, exhibition view, CAN Centre d’art Neuchâtel, 2024Caroline von Gunten, Scripting your Reality, 2024Caroline von Gunten, Scripting your Reality, 2024Pamela Rosenkranz, Alien Blue Window (500 S Buena Vista St, Kral), 2021, Courtesy of the artist and Karma International ZurichDésordre sacré, exhibition view, CAN Centre d’art Neuchâtel, 2024Désordre sacré, exhibition view, CAN Centre d’art Neuchâtel, 2024Sina Oberhänsli, From dusk till dawn, 2020Désordre sacré, exhibition view, CAN Centre d’art Neuchâtel, 2024Pamela Rosenkranz, Alien Blue Window (500 S Buena Vista St, Cranim, 2021, Private Collection SwitzerlandMartin Chramosta, Justizgehäuse (left), 2024. Haager Gehäuse (right), 2024Martin Chramosta, Archiv Gehäuse, 2024Martin Chramosta, Fehlendes Gehäuse, 2024Léopold Rabus, exhibition view, CAN Centre d’art Neuchâtel, 2024Léopold Rabus, exhibition view, CAN Centre d’art Neuchâtel, 2024Léopold Rabus, Oiseau N, 2022Léopold Rabus, Oiseau J, 2022Désordre sacré, exhibition view, CAN Centre d’art Neuchâtel, 2024Sina Oberhänsli, We used to be, 2019Sina Oberhänsli, exhibition view, CAN Centre d’art Neuchâtel, 2024Sina Oberhänsli, Where are my roots?, 2019Désordre sacré, exhibition view, CAN Centre d’art Neuchâtel, 2024Marie-Eve Perez, Socle, 2024Lauryn Youden, From the Great Above She Opened her Ear to the Great Below, 2020Lauryn Youden, From the Great Above She Opened her Ear to the Great Below, 2020Lauryn Youden, From the Great Above She Opened her Ear to the Great Below, 2020Lauryn Youden, From the Great Above She Opened her Ear to the Great Below, 2020Lauryn Youden, To Offer You something, To Bring Relief, 2020Lauryn Youden, To Offer You something, To Bring Relief, 2020Lauryn Youden, To Offer You something, To Bring Relief, 2020Lauryn Youden, To Offer You something, To Bring Relief, 2020Désordre sacré, exhibition view, CAN Centre d’art Neuchâtel, 2024Pamela Rosenkranz, Creation, Deterioration, Conservation (Lemis) (front), 2017, Courtesy of Sammlung RicolaSina Oberhänsli, Stillness in the air, 2024Sina Oberhänsli, Stillness in the air, 2024Sina Oberhänsli, exhibition view, CAN Centre d’art Neuchâtel, 2024Juana Robles, Anastatica, 2021Juana Robles, Anastatica, 2021Gaia Vincensini with Nelson Schaub, view of the performance Human artefact after all, 2024Gaia Vincensini with Nelson Schaub, view of the performance Human artefact after all, 2024Gaia Vincensini with Nelson Schaub, view of the performance Human artefact after all, 2024Gaia Vincensini with Nelson Schaub, view of the performance Human artefact after all, 2024
Photos: Sebastian Verdon / all images copyright and courtesy of the artist and CAN Centre d’art Neuchâtel