Crédit photographique : Fabrice Gousset
2011, military bags, sawdust or sand, 63 x 128 x 14 in
Photography : Fabrice Gousset
The Ancient Babylon wonder, renamed "Camp Alpha" by the USA, was turned into a military camp as the Gulf War was waging on. The site was literally buried under the bitumen to build airstrips and various military facilities, the ground dug out, upended, bagged up and displaced. This event inspired Sandbagwal, which evokes the site transformation , and a great ground upheaval. Displacement is at the heart of the work; from the brick to the bag, the artwork induces a double movement, caught up in its wall stillness. Then, the figure of the walking lion is endowed with new meaning.