A Family of Thoughts, Second Chapter
Py & Verde
The French-Italian artist duo Py & Verde produced a project, the first chapter of which—a radio narrative of a 2015 bike trip—was edited and completed in Avatar’s studios in July 2019.
“One month before leaving, Géraldine fell in a ditch and broke her foot. The slow recovery kept her from getting on her bike… So we had to reinvent a way of travelling separately, each at their own pace. Roberto on his bike, Géraldine with her crutches. Convalescence demands calm and silence. You have to stop, then start again very gently, slow down, adapt…
On the road, Roberto braved the adverse conditions of a rainy and windy fall, finding comfort by the camp fire near his bivouac shelters in the forest, while Géraldine travelled without moving, an imaginary journey of reading and studying works, punctuated by physiotherapy sessions, where she recorded the sounds of orthopedic machines. We sent each other sound postcards on a daily basis, the cadence of pedalling mixing with the cadence of foot movement exercises, the bellow of a stag in the forest blending with the noise of chainsaws in the city…”
A family of Thoughts, Second chapter, a narrative of 56 minutes, is broadcasted on France Culture in summer 2020. Avatar is proud to have renewed its support of this fantastic project.
Discover the first chapter of the project: A Family of Thoughts – Empty Hands
Géraldine Py (1986, Belfort, France) and Roberto Verde (1986, Jesi, Italy) met at the École des Beaux Arts de Marseille in Anita Molinero’s studio class. Py & Verde began working as a duo in 2008. They have participated in many individual and group exhibitions in Europe, including at the art centres Friche la Belle de Mai, Mains d’Œuvres, Le Fresnoy, Villa Arson, Le Quartier in France; PAV in Italy; Argos, Les Brasseurs in Belgium; and the Museum of Contemporary Art of Ljubljana in Slovenia. Their performances and videos have been featured at the Festival Hors Pistes at Centre Pompidou, at Palais de Tokyo as part of Nuit Blanche Paris 2016, and at FRAC Nord-Pas-de-Calais. In 2017, they made a film with Lafayette Anticipations and presented a performance at L’Entrepôt Lafayette as part of Pop up Truck#2. In 2018, they completed a radio project at Avatar (Quebec City), began in 2016 at Euphonia (France). They are also working on Cabaret, second edition, which will be presented in Brussels next fall. Py & Verde live and work in Brussels.
