Lani Maestro's 'Je suis toi' at Église Saint-Nicolas, Caen

Lani Maestro, born in the Philippines in 1957 and exiled to Canada for political reasons, presented 'Je suis toi' at the Église Saint-Nicolas in Caen, France, from July 8 to October 8, 2006. The installation, composed of hundreds of wooden benches of varying sizes and shapes (rocking, thick, thin, precarious), was assembled from reclaimed wood, emphasizing the artist's focus on materiality and social engagement. The benches occupied the entire floor of the Romanesque church—nave, aisles, choir, transept—breaking its symmetry and verticality, forcing a horizontal gaze that destabilized conventional contemplation. The work's monochrome wood unified the space, while the sinuous path of benches disoriented visitors, inviting a phenomenological experience of body, gaze, and mind. Maestro's approach, influenced by Eastern philosophy, treated emptiness as an active element, conditioning the visitor's encounter with the work. The exhibition was curated by Anne Cartel at Wharf–Centre d'Art Contemporain de Basse-Normandie.