Maëlle Tocaben

France, 1999

maelletocaben.com

IG @tocabs_

White tiles of a kitchen floor is a multimedia installation resulting from a 6-month process, during which it gradually evolved and grew, expanding outside its walls in this final display. 

After a few housing mishaps, I began to reconsider my perception of a house and the safety it induces. Exploring the space between memory and fiction, I tried to materialize my personal associations with domesticity and belongings. 

Drawing on a recurring symbol in my memories -the cold tiles of a kitchen floor- I initiated the project by reinterpreting them with plaster, a material very different from the original object, that would nevertheless allow me to mold a similar surface texture.

Committed to preserving all traces of the process, and to expose what would result from my gestures, I collected the fragments of clay and plaster from the molds, as well as the audio recording I made while sculpting the tiles. 

 

When entering the space, you walk on a grey dusty sand, which could be caused by the deterioration of the elements displayed. Melted and twisted objects, piles of rubble, Super 8 footage of a house, burnt plastic and dripping wax co-exist and propose a narrative to the bits of text that unfold on a TV tipped over on the floor. Occasionally, two voices engage in a surreal dialogue, interrupting the crackling audio in the room that is still half-burning.

It is clear that something happened; but what exactly is up to the viewer. Different stories could lead to the answer.