Organized by the Cultural Affairs Bureau, the exhibition “Constellation – Works by Nicolas Delaroche”, integrated in the 28th Macao Arts Festival, was inaugurated on Friday, 26 May, at 6:30pm, at Tap Seac Gallery. The opening ceremony was officiated by the President of the Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Macao S.A.R. Government, Leung Hio Ming; the Assistant of the Deputy Director of the Department of Education and Culture of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Macao S.A.R., Shao Bin; the Deputy Consul General of Switzerland in Hong Kong, Andreas Rufer; the Head of the Department of Exhibitions and Museums of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, Lei Lai Kio; and the artist Nicolas Delaroche. The exhibition is open to the general public.
The exhibition features three series of works by Nicolas Delaroche. The series, “First Seen”, made during the artist’s residency in China, was initially entitled “A Barbarian in China”. Nicolas Delaroche uses the term “barbarian” to describe a foreigner who observes an unknown culture, exploring and capturing the world he saw for the first time. This series of photographs, displayed in the centre of the Gallery, invites visitors to explore images through telescopes, bringing each visitor to re-enact the artist’s creative process. This series features 80 pieces by Delaroche as his observations and study of private collections in Mainland China and Hong Kong, encouraging the public to reflect the meaning of displaying or collecting artworks from a different perspective.
In turn, the new installation “The Rock” by Nicolas Delaroche is a massive inflated sculpture made of white fabric, which recreates the desert landscape of the animation movie Road Runner. The placing of the sculpture in the centre of Tap Seac Gallery generates a connection between the public and the artwork; in fact, the exhibition masterfully uses the Gallery’s spatial features and allows the public to appreciate art through spatial and physical experiences. The last series of works “The Adventures of the Coyote in China” by Delaroche is a blueprint of the figure of Coyote from the animation movie “Road Runner”, which combines his life experiences and perspectives, resonating with the inflated installation “The Rock”.
Born in 1985 in Laon, France, the artist Nicolas Delaroche currently lives in Switzerland. He obtained a master degree in contemporary art from the Hochschule de Kunste Bern as well as a photography degree from the École cantonale d’art de Lausanne. His works have been exhibited in Switzerland, France, Italy and the United States, among others, and are a part of the collection of the Musée de l’Elysée as well as of the Hochschule de Kunste Bern, both in Switzerland.
The exhibition “Constellation – Works by Nicolas Delaroche” is open from 27 May to 8 October at the Tap Seac Gallery. Admission is free. The Gallery, located at No. 95, Avenida do Conselheiro Ferreira de Almeida, opens daily from 10am to 9pm, including public holidays. For enquiries, please contact IC through tel. no. 8988 4000, during office hours.