Peek

What we do not look at, what we do not listen to, what we do not speak about does not exist…

Beyond appearances, beyond the fictitious blinds that partially obstruct the gaze while standardizing what is seen by everyone, Raphaël Meng Wu’s window materializes a boundary between two realities. Two worlds that coexist without interpenetrating: on one hand, the tumult of the street; on the other hand, the oppressive silence of a situation the artist reveals through his installation.

Hidden behind these white spaces, as if concealed behind conventions and unspoken rules, two couples pose as they are. Two men and two women. They stand in front of us, authentic, in their own moment, during which they can finally reveal themselves. Living in China, the reality of their daily lives is marked by separation, imposed by the weight of culture and by social and familial pressure. To get around these constraints, their only escape is often a marriage of convenience, a sad and silent façade, or travel abroad, brief interludes that allow them to reunite.

If we do not look at them, if we do not listen to them, if we do not speak of them, they do not exist in the eyes of society.

By forcing passersby to stop and contort themselves to glimpse what initially escapes our eye, the artist turns us into actors in his work. By paying attention to the situation, each protagonist brings to life what would otherwise remain buried. For observing means bringing into the light what remains in the shadows. Observing means starting to understand. Observing, ultimately, means performing an act of resistance against indifference or imposed invisibility.