A fresco to denounce the situation reserved for art and culture for nearly a year, the CENTQUATRE-PARIS as all cultural places are again closed since late October and until further notice.
It is in this context that the artist Rero chose to transform the facade of the CENTQUATRE by affixing his lettering in the Verdana font—in black and white—which echoes the phrase we have heard so often in recent months: “NOT ESSENTIAL.” By blocking the windows to create a tangible physical barrier, Rero seeks to conceal what we are prevented from experiencing collectively: art and culture.
Born in 1983, Rero has established himself for more than a decade as one of the most important street artists of the French and international scene. Strongly impregnated with philosophy and sociology, his work never ceases to question the codes of our society, notably around the notions of consumption and obsolescence. Themes of a burning topicality. For him:
“Even though it is painful, the pandemic is a unique opportunity to clearly ask what is essential in life. It is a vast debate, a clash of opinions. So I wanted to share my perspective, and the Centquatre was the perfect place to do so. It is not a museum of the past; it is a multicultural space fully in tune with the times, built on exchange and creation… While this is not about questioning public health measures, there is a certain injustice in seeing cultural institutions remain closed today. Exchange is a fundamental human need…”
José Manuel Gonçalvès, the director of CENTQUATRE-PARIS who commissioned the work, is clearly of the same opinion:
“Our situation is obviously complicated, and we wanted to express it through an artistic gesture that challenges this terrible word that has been suffocating us for months. We were already working with Rero on a project under the main nave. Without abandoning that project, the situation led us to shift our focus toward something else. We thought of a more direct action, aimed at the public rather than at politicians. A somewhat sad message to tell them that we are now reduced to this word, which makes us sad. But that doesn’t stop us from staying active: the Centquatre is the largest vaccination center in Paris; we welcome dozens of elderly people every day!”
The work is visible since this Wednesday, February 24 in front of the Centquatre, at 104 rue d'Aubervilliers.