The omnipresence of the imprint in the work of Rainier Lericolais, from casts to works on paper including photography, invites to think about it. The vinyl records imprints he calls Phantoms (series initiated in 2009, also named Abstracks I, II, III, IV as large formats) will provide a red thread. Stuck on black background or glass, they show the negative of the original disc in great detail in the form of a thin transparent plastic film.
[...] The Phantoms as a mise-en-abîme of the imprinting process, since they operate on objects already cast. They also thwart the seriality here doubly attached to the footprint as the standardization of the disk: they are often arranged in sets,
not from a single matrix, but from a collection which can differentiate the record grooves and sometimes the signs engraved on the blank space (Central Sordide sentimental, 2009).
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Abstracks I,II,III,IV, vinyl record imprint on cardboard, 2011 courtesy of the artist, gallery Frank Elbaz exhibition Abstracks le confort moderne , Poitiers, 2011 |
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It is therefore a substance - note his kinship with the PVC of the original medium - which can restore the disks, to regain their original appearance, stripes excepted. Yet it is also those last, and that dust accumulated over time that are the imprint of the Phantoms
 galeriefrankelbaz.com
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"I try to show a reality that nobody sees, says Rainier Lericolais. Not things that do not exist, but things unseen. I do not care whether true or false they are, what counts is how to show them. "[...] |