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    Jean Jullien’s Immersive ‘Paper Society’ Mirrors Our Cultures, Customs, and Daily Lives

    Installation view of ‘Paper Society.’ All images courtesy of the artist and PUBLIK GASAN, shared with permission

    Jean Jullien’s Immersive ‘Paper Society’ Mirrors Our Cultures, Customs, and Daily Lives

    October 28, 2024

    Art

    Kate Mothes

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    From the Parco Museum in Tokyo to the storied Le Bon Marché in Paris and beyond, Jean Jullien’s Paper People (previously) cheerfully express the world we live in through large-scale installations. The prosperous population have now taken over the expansive PUBLIK GASAN in Seoul, welcoming us to reflect on universally relatable daily activities, customs, emotions, and social issues.

    In the artist’s latest immersive presentation, minimalist figures check their phones, visit cafes, and work on a production line in a lighthearted and sympathetic vision of everyday life.

    Titled Paper Society, Jullien’s exhibition is organized into three parts. First, visitors encounter the “Factory,” where the paper people are born and work together, sorting through a variety of patterns and sizes available for replication on a conveyor belt.

    “Paper Town” is encountered next, modeled after our own urban landscapes, with city blocks, businesses, and institutions. Finally, the “Snake Room” leads viewers along the curves of a giant serpent covered on both sides in hand-drawn timelines detailing the histories of both humanity and its playful, parallel civilization.

    Paper Society marks the final iteration of the Paper People installations. Explore more work on Jullien’s website and Instagram.

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  • Coverage: “8th Ply” Group Show in Amsterdam, Netherlands

    Continuing their successful collaboration Sasha Bogojev and Mark Chalmers team up again for 8th Ply. Curated by Sasha Bogojev and presented by The Garage Amsterdam, 8th Ply is a group exhibition featuring artists whose lives were, and are, significantly marked by their connection with skateboarding.
    Seven layers of maple wood, or 7-ply, is the core construction of the skateboard deck and the bedrock of this globally popular sport/lifestyle. In a year when skateboarding was destined to debut as an official Olympic sport for the first time in history, 8th Ply is here to put a focus on another layer of this popular activity.
    Working in a variety of mediums, applying different techniques, and using a diverse range of aesthetics to express their creativity, the presentation aims to provide a glimpse at the uniqueness, imagination, and resourcefulness of the people closely connected to skateboarding. And while skateboarding itself is now a big part of popular culture and is getting heavily branded as a mainstream sport, 8th Ply serves as a metaphor for the cardinal ingredient that turns a wooden plank into a form of identification.
    The exhibition features artists whose lives were, and are, significantly marked by their connection with skateboarding, such as Ed Templeton, James Jarvis, Jean Jullien, Adam Neate, Boris Tellegen, Parra, Josh Jefferson, Andrew Schoultz, and Jeffrey Cheung.

    “From my perspective, 8th Ply represents the channeling of human energy and emotion into the artifact of the skateboard. The combination of board and rider together allows each to become greater than the sum of their parts. My work across the globe bears witness to the inspiring magic that occurs when skateboarders—particularly among SOC—are allowed to move beyond the local and contribute their viewpoints, actions, and activism to the global language of skateboarding culture. Each rider carries a different thread of humanity which, when woven into the broader fabric of skateboarding, emboldens the next generation to see skateboarding as an outlet for their voice.
    As a young Black teenager, I witnessed firsthand how overt and covert racism negatively affected the lives of people of color, and I sought ways to disrupt its effects. Once discovering skateboarding, I found a new space of freedom and self-expression, as part of a multi-gendered, multiracial collective dedicated to pushing through life’s challenges atop 7-Plys of Hardrock-maple. The diversity within our coalition offered a blueprint, which demonstrated that when harnessed correctly, skateboarding culture might offer the possibility to challenge power, build community, and create social change.” – Dr. Neftalie Williams, Artist. Scholar. Diplomat. Activist. Skateboarder.

     The Garage Amsterdam was created in 2004 by Mark Chalmers, a creative director and founder of the internationally lauded Creative Social. Mark also runs the international studio Chalming.Co where he is working with artists and art to build global brands through culture. Brands such as Nike, Dior, Google and Patagonia. Fascinated by the power of grassroots networks, Chalmers started The Garage Amsterdam, as a place where artists could stay while in Amsterdam, create and exhibit work and connect with other artists.
    Scroll down below for more photos of the group show.

    Images by Rene Messman

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