French artist Laure Prouvost, known for her uncanny ability to destabilize traditional perceptual paradigms, embarks on her first solo endeavor in the Lone Star state. The Moody Center for the Arts opens its doors on September 15, 2023, to ‘Above Front Tears Nest in South,’ an exhibition that infuses video, sculpture, and textiles into a mind-bending multisensory installation.
Prouvost’s ingenuity manifests itself as a liminal space teetering on the edge of reality and imagination. This cross-disciplinary world effortlessly negotiates large-scale multimedia installations, found objects, sculptures, tapestries, architectural assemblies, and videos. The interactive elements collaborate with the Moody galleries’ architecture, presenting an eccentric yet delightful mode of display.
In tune with her avant-garde style, Prouvost challenges expectations through her provocative use of objects and her whimsical language play evident in the exhibition title. The innovative artist doesn’t hesitate to tread the less traveled path of eco-feminism and environmentalism, intermingling them with personal and imagined memories.
Alison Weaver, the Executive Director of the Moody Center, expresses her excitement over presenting Prouvost’s thought-provoking work. Weaver believes that Prouvost’s exhibition resonates with the Center’s mission of fostering interdisciplinary conversations through the arts. With themes stretching from feminism and consumerism to environmental degradation and surrealism, visitors to the Moody Center will engage with Prouvost’s layered landscape that intertwines the personal and the universal.
Designed by Diogo Passarinho Studio, the exhibition stages a dance between the ethereal and the industrial. Visitors are greeted with an indoor water fountain that sets the stage for the immersive experience, led by a tapestry and enhanced by the recurrent appearance of Grand Ma, a human-bird protagonist, across the Media Art Gallery.
The journey through Prouvost’s imagined world further unveils an Anthropocene panorama, marked by evidence of human-induced changes—pipes, detritus, and oil leaks. Still, amidst this chaos, the exhibition manages to maintain connections with nature, offering an optimistic vision of a future where humanity harmonizes with nature instead of disrupting it.
The exhibition is slated to run until December 14, 2023, and will coincide with the International Society for the Study of Surrealism (ISSS) conference happening in Houston, November 9–11, 2023. ‘Above Front Tears Nest in South,’ curated by Frauke V. Josenhans, promises to be an enchanting display of Prouvost’s unique artistic vision, not to be missed by anyone with an affinity for contemporary art.
With the support of the Moody Center for the Arts Founders Circle and the Elizabeth Lee Moody Excellence Fund for the Arts, Laure Prouvost’s debut in Texas promises to leave an indelible mark on the state’s artistic landscape.