DreamTime: Contemporary Art Meets Prehistory in a French Cave
The dual-venue exhibition DreamTime, curated by Pascal Pique, Nathalie Thibat, and Klaus Sauer, runs from May to August/November 2009 at Les Abattoirs in Toulouse and the Grotte du Mas d'Azil in Ariège. The cave, a prehistoric site inhabited from 40,000 BCE to the Azilian period (c. 9000 BCE), features a monumental vault comparable to the Grand Palais. Artists including Mark Dion, Delphine Gigoux-Martin, David Altmejd, Thomas Israël, Charley Case, Éric Hurtado, Brion Gysin, and Claude Lévêque created site-specific works. Dion installed a phosphorescent bear skeleton above the road; Gigoux-Martin's Voyage autour de mon crâne uses bottle shards and butterflies; Altmejd placed five plaster angels in the Salle du temple. The title references Australian Aboriginal Dreamtime, bridging prehistoric and contemporary art. The Toulouse component includes Aboriginal paintings, Xavier Veilhan's Grotte, and Altmejd's glass giants.
Key facts
- Exhibition runs 15/05-30/08/09 at Les Abattoirs, Toulouse, and 16/05-14/11/09 at Grotte du Mas d'Azil.
- Cave was inhabited from 40,000 BCE to c. 9000 BCE.
- Curated by Pascal Pique, Nathalie Thibat, and Klaus Sauer.
- Caza d'Oro residency since 2003 enables contemporary artists to engage with prehistoric heritage.
- Mark Dion's phosphorescent bear skeleton references local bear reintroduction debates.
- Delphine Gigoux-Martin's installation uses bottle shards and butterflies in a skull-shaped chamber.
- David Altmejd's five plaster angels are installed in the Salle du temple.
- Claude Lévêque's Interim uses strobe lights and aggressive soundtrack in a narrow passage.
Entities
Artists
- Mark Dion
- Delphine Gigoux-Martin
- David Altmejd
- Thomas Israël
- Charley Case
- Éric Hurtado
- Brion Gysin
- Claude Lévêque
- Xavier Veilhan
Institutions
- Les Abattoirs
- Caza d'Oro
- Magasin de Grenoble
Locations
- Toulouse
- France
- Grotte du Mas d'Azil
- Ariège
- Pyrénées
- Venice
Sources
- artpress —