FRANÇOIS MARTIG

Zone Rouge

2008 -

Biography

Whether it be installation, sound installation, radio or photographic documentary, the shifting activities of François Martig assume a form that is in keeping with the context, geography and space, which the artist underscores rather than dominates. Robinsonhotel, a long-term project reflecting the artist’s recurrent themes, poses questions about landscape—which he regards as a social, economic and political sphere—and assumes the form of a resolutely contextual work. Careful not to modify the environment or establish a temporary residency, the artist attempts to reveal it through an art of displacement. Martig began to capture sounds in the same way he captured documentary images. His intensive use of the medium of sound has allowed him to reinforce his photographic reflections on the notion of the walking itinerary, and to opt for a practice involving an active landscape. His fascination with the history of landscapes is clearly evident in his work, which powerfully conveys the interdependence of man and nature. Through a sensitive approach that combines past and present, Martig invites the viewer to reexamine the role of nature, for landscapes are indicative of our way of life, socially, politically and economically.

About the work

The red zone is the name given to approximately 465 square miles of land in north-eastern France that was destroyed during the First World War. Due to hundreds of thousands of human and animal corpses and millions of unexploded devices that contaminated the land, certain activities in the area such as housing, farming or forestry were temporarily or permanently forbidden after the war. Some towns were never allowed to be rebuilt. The land was reforested, primarily with black pines, which cover 65 square miles in the department of Meuse. These trees have now finally matured, and the forest rangers are preserving a part of the forest as a memorial, while the rest is being cut down for firewood. Inspired by these realities and their problems, Zone Rouge employs a variety of media. Initially an in situ radio piece, it has become a course of sound architectures constructed in the woods near the battle field. It is an ongoing project, initiated five years ago.