Schaufenster 2

A few days before the beginning of the transformation and compliance work, the Konschthal Esch continues its cycle of prefiguration exhibitions. Following on from its launch last October, the Schaufenster programme now focuses on contemporary sculpture.

For the second edition, Xavier Mary and Eric Schumacher have designed and made two new productions for the window and the square before the Konschthal Esch. By inviting a Belgian and a Luxembourger artist, the new art centre asserts its openness to the international scene while still showcasing Luxembourger artists.

Their in-situ work thus forms part of the transformation phase of the building itself. The Konschthal will fit into the new cultural geography of the City of Esch, and the two artists' sculptural presentations will contribute to identifying a new institution.

The Konschthal is not only an exhibition space for contemporary art, but a platform for creation that is built up out of artists' presentations.

Thus, for the second edition, the Konschthal Esch has also joined forces with the Nocturn collective for the launch concept for Schaufenster 2, on 24 April. The noc.turn collective will thus support the launch phase for the Konschthal Esch. This collaboration forms part of the concept for the Connexions cultural development strategy established by the City of Esch-sur-Alzette since 2017.

For his Schaufenster 2 installation, Xavier Mary confronts two elements: some twenty tonnes of engine carcasses and the subversion of the logo of a truck constructor.

The logo of Hino trucks derives originally from the H in the name of the Japanese brand. But in addition to this direct and profane explanation, it is also supposed to represent a sun rising on the horizon.

Xavier Mary reverses roles in the title of his work and questions the commercial symbolism of the logo by suspending it over a landscape of scrap iron.

He subtly transforms the Hino logo into a chrome sculpture which he floats over a belt of engines destined for the scrap heap. Like dinosaur bones, this belt loaded with debris from the automobile industry borrows elements from cinematographic dystopias, while still alluding to the cultures of the Asian world, which seem close to us with the globalisation of markets.