A legacy under questioning

In the public space, a quotation from Victor Hugo’s Booz endormi, engraved on a low wall in front of Saint-Antoine Church, stands out as a daily presence. This text, drawn from a different historical context, celebrates a male figure associated with wisdom and authority, whilst female figures appear in a posture of admiration. This representation can be seen as a reflection of patriarchal norms, raising the question of the place and meaning of such legacies in our contemporary environments.

An intervention in the public space

In light of this, an artistic intervention proposes to revitalise this site through the collage of alternative texts. Extracts from Malvina Blanchecotte, a contemporary of Victor Hugo from a working-class background, are affixed to the existing surface. This approach aims to introduce a voice often absent from dominant narratives and to establish a dialogue between two distinct historical perspectives.

The collage, ephemeral by nature, is accompanied by a documentation project. It is not merely a matter of covering up, but of revealing, making visible, and then preserving the trace of this temporary appearance in the urban landscape.

Transformation and coexistence

Subject to the elements, the installation gradually evolves. The paper deteriorates and the collages bleeds, revealing and altering the texts over time. This process of deterioration is an integral part of the project, highlighting the fragility and transience of inscriptions in public spaces.

Thus, the texts by Victor Hugo and Malvina Blanchecotte coexist temporarily, creating a subtle yet significant tension. The urban space then becomes a place of dialogue and reinterpretation, where the voices of the past can be questioned, displaced and reappropriated.