<p></p>The young French artist brings great myths – and great questions – to life in his painting <em>Parade</em>, currently on view at Lafayette Anticipations in Paris<p><br></p>
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Elsa Coustou

Pol Taburet’s spiritual visions

<p><strong>What does the word ‘Zurich’ mean to you?</strong></p>
<p>A feeling of openness, care, and understanding. </p>
<p><strong>Your first memory in Zurich?</strong></p>
<p>A kiss in the rain in the Limmat. </p>
<p><strong>What is the mark of a true ‘Zuricher’?</strong></p>
<p>Freitag bags. </p>

<p><strong>Which famous figure best embodies Zurich? </strong></p>
<p>Lhaga Koondhor – popess of Zurich nightlife, influencer, coach, guru, curator, silly girl.</p>
<p><strong>Your favorite place for breakfast?</strong></p>
<p>Café du Bonheur on Bullingerplatz, where you can dip your feet in the water fountain while enjoying a nice drink.</p>
<p><strong>Where are the best boutiques?</strong></p>
<p>Tasoni is a must, and the flea market on Bürkliplatz is cute. </p>

<p>The work was born from a memory of a scene in Marcel Camus’s musical film <em>Orfeu Negro</em>, which was awarded the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1959 and transposes the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice to the Brazilian context of Rio de Janeiro during <em>Carnaval</em>. The euphoria and colors of the festivities, the rhythm of the bossa nova, the dances, and the boundless love of the ill-fated couple are all present in Taburet’s work. The two female bodies appear to be dancing in exaltation, their hair styled with colorful, glittering adornments, and their faces seemingly masked as though they are on their way to a ceremony or a ritual.</p>

<p><strong></strong><strong>What can you only do in Zurich?</strong></p>
<p>Swim in the Limmat.</p>
<p><strong>What do you miss most about Zurich when you are away?</strong></p>
<p>Nights at Longstreet Bar when it used to be cool.</p>
<p><strong>Your best advice for those just visiting? </strong></p>
<p>Fall accidently in the river, eat a vegetarian currywurst, enjoy a cocktail at Kronenhalle, invite the barman of Chicago Bar to show you his panini book. </p>
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<p>The landscape thus becomes the underworld: the central figure, balanced on her left foot, seems to be burning herself as she attempts to cross the River Styx, while her right foot is erased, as if by metamorphosis. But is the character leaving the underworld or entering it? At the threshold of two worlds, these figures symbolize life and death – a pairing that Taburet featured in several paintings in 2022. Conspiratorial partners and joyful lovers, these two tenebrous powers that set the universe in motion, in things both seen and unseen, are here portrayed at a tipping point – perhaps of their union, or perhaps of their eternal separation.</p>
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<p>Pol Taburet is represented by <a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/gallery/1340/Balice-Hertling" target="_blank">Balice Hertling</a> (Paris) and <a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/gallery/1214/Mendes-Wood-DM" target="_blank">Mendes Wood DM</a>&nbsp;(São Paulo, Brussels, New York).</p>
<p>Pol Taburet<br>‘OPERA III : ZOO “The Day of Heaven and Hell”’<br>Lafayette Anticipations  – Fondation Galeries Lafayette, Paris<br>Until September 3, 2023</p>
<p>Elsa Coustou is Curator and Public Program Coordinator at Lafayette Anticipations – Fondation Galeries Lafayette, Paris.</p>
<p>English translation: Jacob Bromberg.</p>
<p>Published on June 21, 2023.</p>
<p>Caption for full-bleed images, from top to bottom: 1.&nbsp;Pol Taburet, <em>Parade</em>, 2022. © Courtesy of the artist & Mendes Wood DM. Photograph by Kristien Daem. 2.&nbsp;Pol Taburet, <em>Jumping out the womb like my daddy is the devil</em>, 2022.&nbsp;© Courtesy of the artist and Balice Hertling, Paris.&nbsp;Photograph by&nbsp;Jiayun Deng. 3.&nbsp;Pol Taburet,<em>
Götterspeise,</em> 2021.&nbsp;© Courtesy of the artist, Balice Hertling, Paris and C L E A R I N G, New York/Brussels.&nbsp;Photograph by&nbsp;Martin Elder.</p>

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