Silence Gives Consent

To face the present in its most radical actuality. To react against the constraints and injustices which surround us. Say something. Do not stay quiet.

The impossibility to escape from the space of experiences that determines us, and at the same time, opens a horizon of expectations and possibilities to act, forces us to renew constantly our “vital” engagement. The philosopher Ortega y Gasset described this issue in this terms: “I am myself and my circumstances, and if I do not save them, I do not save myself either”

“Silence gives consent” sets out a cross-disciplinary approach on the topic of initiative through the language. The complexity of our political and social reality demands a permanent effort of reflection on our values and basic principles. If any inactivity can be interpreted as a form of action, among the speech, silence and scream establish the wide range of offered possibilities. But beyond the strategic position chosen, the act of speak is already an act of power.

In order to illustrate this very significant act, Géraldine Banier Gallery, invites a group of artists whose works involve an interrogation of the reality, whether if it shows as the source of inspiration or contestation: human rights, capitalism, bioethics, technosciences, every form of violence, censorship, education, democracy… Our responsibility as spectators starts with this kind of silence that notes, observes and sometimes evolves secretly, in indignation.

Thus, in the company of David Gouny, we are immersed in the aporias of the speech, claiming for silence with a portable megaphone infected with a “fat virus”. We explore the visual poetry of Manuèle Bernardi that questions our individual responsibilities on bioethic demands. In order to emancipate us from the identity constraints, Francesca Gagliardi appeals to the magical power of words to create sort of alchemy of liberation. We discover the incriminating view that Alexia Tailleur has on the ideology of progress, a gaze that remains as the symbol of the angel of the history by Walter Benjamin. With Marco Cordero we blame our lack, even our oblivion of humanity towards the refugees and we question how we’re managing the migration crisis. The works of Frédéric Garnier overwhelm our ethico-political approach with regard to our collective imaginary and what we leave behind as legacy.
A legacy and tradition whose “noodle quotes” of Joachim Biehler take hold of so to deconstruct and ponder differently.

The choice of the pieces that compose the exhibition offers different points of view on the issue of the speech that commits, of the thought, of the stance before a complex reality. The diversity of forms and speeches engenders a real dialogue within the works that echoe confront and complete themselves in return. The tactic silence stand alongside the condemnation, the irony responds to the claim.
It’s a true conversation committed by seven artists that invites the spectator to react in return and take part in this “exchange”.
A statement of Susan Sontag recalls us: “the art of our time is noisy with appeals for silence”.

Once the silence reached, the recovery of dialogue becomes essential.
SILENCE THEN! We need to express ourselves, we can’t keep quiet anymore.