Philippe Durand’s 'Sioule et caetera' at Galerie Laurent Godin

Philippe Durand (France, 1963) presents 'Sioule et caetera' at Galerie Laurent Godin in Paris from February 7 to March 23, 2013. The exhibition focuses on the Sioule, a river in Auvergne, depicted as a leisure spot for kayakers. A short video shows a traffic jam of kayaks in a narrow passage. Durand belongs to the 'weak expression' trend, enriching it with banal images from his travels—Dubaï, Auvergne, Serbia, Mali. His subjects include construction sites, potholes, abandoned shops, and reflections in shop windows, creating an upside-down world. François Piron describes him as 'an ironic and contemplative surveyor' adept at capturing subtle signs of everyday dysfunction. The exhibition evokes the 'fugitive pleasure of circumstance' (Baudelaire), avoiding decisive moments or punctum.