On the surface, the Paris La Défense business district is so crowded it can make your head spin. Beneath the concrete slab, there's a hidden world that many Parisians are unaware of. So it's here, in the Paris La Défense underground, that Les Extatiques have decided to temporarily set up their new playground this winter. After 6 years in the open air, the famous contemporary art wanderer now dives into the underground of the Hauts-de-Seine to offer the curious a new experience, conceived as an extension of the summer edition. For 24 days, from February 2 to 25, 2024, Les Extatiques will descend into the basements of the legendary business district to unveil a journey of works and installations, imagined by the Interstices collective.
If you took part in the last edition of Paris Face Cachée, in February 2023, then you're probably familiar with Interstices. This collective, made up of artists from alternative culture, created a series of works for the occasion (photo collages, light installations, frescoes, etc.) exhibited in the 5,000 m² underground space of Paris La Défense.
This time, Interstices goes one step further, proposing a new artistic experience to be discovered over a three-week period, but still in this area usually closed to the public and known as the " Sunken Cathedral ".
For Les Extatiques, Interstices unveils new monumental installations, photo series, paintings, sculptures, projections, digital and kinetic works by some twenty artists. All are united around the theme of nature, the very thing that reclaims abandoned places.
Sortiraparis was able to preview this fascinating underground journey, sublimated by photographers, street artists, video artists and painters. Before taking the plunge, we meet Nicolas Obadia, the curator of the event, just outside the door ofRaymond Moretti's studio, which will close the tour. But more on that later.
To reach the bowels of Paris La Défense, we follow Nicolas at a brisk pace. The tour begins after crossing a long corridor leading to the much-talked-about"sunken cathedral". The immensity of this residual void is as impressive as ever, a feeling reinforced by the incessant noise of the roads, the RER A and the infrastructure that resonates here. But the works proposed by Interstices, to be discovered in this new format of Les Extatiques, quickly make us forget where we are. After all, the artists have all played the game and carefully respected the theme imposed: that of nature reclaiming its rights.
The visit begins with an artistic photo tour featuring the intersecting views of several exploratory photographers. In each photo, nature is omnipresent, taking over a place abandoned by man. The whole of this first part of the tour is enhanced by large suspended light tubes that change color. If this is a visual experience, it is also one of sound. The sound of water, a vital resource on the verge of becoming a scarce commodity, is well represented in the middle of this " sunken cathedral ".
The visit continues with Lün's work. Here, the artist takes us into an imaginary, dreamlike world, bringing together painting and photos taken by urban explorers. Thanks to collage, marouflage and paint, the illusion is perfect.
Next up is a contemporary and engaging work entitled " Future nostalgia ", designed by Mel Piat and Romain Gonçalves. For this installation, the artist duo imagined plants printed on fabric using rust to create an " archive of nature ". Here, visitors are invited to wander through the work to feel the forces of this biodiversity.
Future nostalgia " installation by Mel Piat and Romain Gonçalves
A little further on, we discover imposing sculptures made from plastics, nets, bottle tops and CDs, denouncing the pollution caused by man on the planet. Opposite, the four street artists MG la bomba, Rea One, Caligr Oner and Raphe created a striking mural, once again celebrating the power of nature.
Another work, another interstitial artistic practice with Allison Simonot, aka Rozetta. Her visual and sound installation creates a fascinating vortex, hypnotizing us and taking us into a troubling parallel world.
We continue our tour of Les Extatiques with one of our favorites of the event: the work entitled " Image latente ". Using water and a diffusion system based on nozzles - small devices designed to expel the products used to spray fields - the artist has created an incredible installation in the form of a 3D loop. Both visual and sonic, this work employs several techniques, including video and graphics. Creating lines, triangles and circles, the installation literally leaves us breathless!
We end our visit with the luminous, anamorphic work by Rémi Petit, already present at Paris Face Cachée. This time, the artist has imagined a new immersive work using optical art, thanks to rubber bands covered in phosphorescent paint. For this installation, the public is invited to enter this " chapel " and feel the things around them.
Through this richly immersive journey, which does not hesitate to push back the boundaries of creation, the Interstices collective succeeds, for the second time, in taking us on a journey through time and space, offering us an unusual artistic experience that ends with a little surprise: the discovery of Raymond Moretti's studio and his"monster". This monumental sculpture has resided in the basement of Paris La Défense since 1973. For this winter edition of Les Extatiques, the public is exceptionally invited to discover it!
Did you know that? A monster is hiding in the underground of La Défense
While tens of thousands of people from the Paris region rush to La Défense every day to go to work, a monster has been lurking in the underground passages of the business district since 1973! We tell you the incredible story of the "Monster" by Raymond Moretti. [Read more]
The lucky ones who already have their precious pass will be able to discover this beautiful artistic journey from February 2 to 25, 2024. For those who haven't got their ticket yet, see you on February 2 at 10 a.m. when it goes on sale again! Please note that these guided tours are for groups of 19 people maximum. Two types of visit are offered: one lasting 1h30 and the other 45 minutes.
Dates and Opening Time
From February 2, 2024 to February 25, 2024
Location
Esplanade de Paris La Défense
Esplanade de La Défense
92800 Puteaux
Prices
Visite de 1h30: €17
Visite de 45 minutes: €45
Official website
my.weezevent.com
Booking
my.weezevent.com
Did you know that? A monster is hiding in the underground of La Défense
