Défense de s'asseoir

Défense de s'asseoir

40 x 50 cm, © 2025, prijs op aanvraag
Ruimtelijk | Beelden | Mixed Media

A patch of artificial grass, inviting and familiar, is cast in resin and pierced by metal spikes. What promises comfort and accessibility is instantly withdrawn, transformed into a surface of exclusion.

The inscription “Défense de s’asseoir” makes explicit what the object already declares. Normally, prohibition operates in a single register: either through text (law, language) or through material impediment (spikes, physical force). Here, both are imposed simultaneously, a double prohibition that renders the interdiction excessive and even absurd.

The work refers to hostile architecture: urban strategies that prevent rest, gathering, or shelter, often targeting the most vulnerable. In this miniature, it becomes clear that control in public space is never neutral: hospitality is evoked only to be withdrawn, freedom promised only to be denied.