Elsa Martinez & Marie Hervé
HEAVY TO CARRY
Description of the project :
In relation to our current research on materials and the trades and movements of raw materials in the Mediterranean, our project in Tinos works as a new chapter which focuses on the extraction and transformation of marble in the island, with a focus on the transformation and sculpting of marble linked with the school and marble craftsmen in Pyrgos.
The installation and images construct a visual and sculptural study – mixing pieces extracted by craftsmen, the visible modifications of the landscape through this activity, gestures of the school marble students and vernacular details of the inhabitants’ houses. We tried to capture a feeling that became more and more present through the walks : that overwhelming vision of stone and quarries on this part of the island, juxtaposed with the dryness of the land.
Heavy to carry is a work in progress tackling our main subject of study : marble stones. Keeping in mind this process of extraction, construction, production of objects and their circulation in the Mediterranean – linked with a history of trade in the Mediterranean area -, the work investigates the possibility of working directly onto this material, and creates a series of pieces mixing marble and images taken during the residency.
BIO
Marie Hervé and Elsa Martinez have been working as a duo since 2020. Drawing a trajectory on the lands of the Mediterranean area, their project focuses on Western history and its myths as a fictional, fantasized construction, a place of collective projections or political and social marginalization. Exploring the notions of ruins, reconstruction and memory, they develop a photographic and plastic research between image and writing, archaeology and architecture. They participated in Nuovo Grand Tour residency in Puglia (Italy) with the support of Institut Français Italia and were awarded the Eurazeo research grant in 2021. The project was exhibited at the Librairie du Palais Gallery (Arles, FR), at the Hôtel de l’Industrie (Paris, FR), at FRAC Paca (Marseille, FR) and Salon Approche (Paris, FR), among others.
