L’impasse de la vignette, dans le temps et dans l’espace

The idea for this project was born from the encounter between two artists who discovered in each other a shared passion for the street and the richness of human connections it reveals. Mathias Vancoppenolle is driven by an obsession to constantly photograph the street. Michel Bart, for his part, is focused on simply living there with as little hardship as possible. These two installations reflect their respective journeys through a small neighborhood. Perfectly situated, the window on rue Hors Château stands as a witness to this microcosm, saluting the members of a singular local community.

A homeless man, Michel has pitched his tent in the Côteaux hills, just above a narrow alleyway, where he spends his days quietly carving walking sticks, without any specific expectation. He collects them and when he makes his way into town, he selects one lovingly and carries it with pride.

Each walking stick bears witness to a path, a wandering, a silent dialogue between him and nature. In the carved wood, Michel Bart finds presence and comfort. These canes are not just functional support, they are symbols of resilience, survival and artistic creation.

Mathias Vancoppenolle’s photographs, despite often depicting difficult realities, are presented in opulently gilded frames, the kind once used by painters to portray the leisurely lives of the bourgeois elite. With deep empathy, he captures the purity and simplicity of those he encounters, revealing their quiet dignity. He photographs the invisible stories, the ones hidden in glances and the creases of faces.

The two windows, arranged like the showcases of a luxury boutique, serve to honor the immense presence and humanity of these lives.