M HKA Ensembles

Artist Novel, 20 x 13 cm, 128 p, language: Frans, publisher: Editions Le Bord de l'Eau-Collection La Muette & FRAC Bretagne, Bruxelles-Lormont-Rennes, ISBN 978-2-35687-497-9.

Collection: M HKA Antwerp (Inv. no. B 2031/961).

Literary synopsis

Created in 2003 by artist Erwan Mahéo, the Centre du Monde is an artist residency located on Belle-Île-en-Mer, off the coast of Morbihan, in France. Marked by its insular nature, the Centre du Monde is a place of reflection, research, and isolation. It provides artists, writers, painters, sculptors, musicians, choreographers, exhibition curators, photographers, and researchers of all kinds with a precious space and time of freedom for one month. The rule of the game implies that they can leave a trace of their presence in the house, as well as a book that enriches an eclectic and unique library. These books are like a message in a bottle; available to future residents, they weave an invisible connection between artists who, for the most part, do not know each other.

In the book Le centre du monde (description of an invisible sculpture), the author spends a night in the place, ten years after its opening, and reflects on all the works present in the residency through their systematic description.

Relation of the novel to the artist’s practice

Erwan Mahéo creates spaces for contemplation. The Centre du Monde is one of these spaces, defining a working situation and an architecture that connects the mental space with the physical space. It is an open framework, a context in which different individuals contribute to the construction of a unique space, the development of a hybrid sculpture, and the formation of a collection that brings together a range of individual experiences linked to a specific situation.