Paul Gounon
Artist Paul Gounon went to Skopje in North Macedonia and was hosted by Acanthus Gallery / French Institute.The “History, Power and seduction” project highlights the links between history and our society, politics and how they affect our world views. For several projects, Gounon has worked with reproductions of antique concrete statues that attempt to produce an effect of historical value. He’s interested in this aesthetic aspect of the ancient world and its power of seduction and political repercussions, which led him to become interested in the city of Skopje and its architectural project «Skopje 2014». He decided to go to Skopje to discover the city and its monuments in order to create a video, photographic and textual archive and meet the city’s inhabitants, to make a film that would address these historical, political, economic and societal issues and to create a sculptural work in connection with this notion of the aesthetics of history.
During this residency I wanted to produce an exhibition around the host city, the city of Skopje, sculptures and a video and I was able to do everything for the end-of-residence exhibition. I was able to get a good visibility of many press articles and interviews.
