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Day 353: Speaker Mouths

There are some very eye-catching gigantic lips in Saint-Germain-des-Prés at the moment. An art installation, it seems like it’s here to stay for a month. The way this installation works is through public interaction – you’re supposed to talk into the microphone in front of the lips and it’ll be reinterpreted by these lippy “flowers”.

Created in 2010 by LLND who were duo artists originally from Saint-Germain-des-Prés themselves (but have been living in China for the past 3 years), this piece is intended to be a form of art and cultural exchange between their home neighbourhood and Huai Hai Lu in Shanghai (their adopted neighbourhood?), promoting the spirit of communications. Unfortunately, when I was there, the sculpture didn’t seem to be in working order. Hmmm…

Day 313: Candy seller

How often do you buy pick-n-mix? And where do you buy them? Cinema? Shopping mall? By the street outside the cinema? That’s where you can find this little candy stall. At St-Germain, by an exit of Odéon métro station, at the intersection between a number of cinemas. Handy, eh?

This is time for a little disclaimer though – I don’t buy pick-n-mix when I go to the movies. In fact, nowadays, I don’t even get popcorns. Gone are my movie snacking days. I think I may have been weaned off popcorns because those I can find in Dublin are salty. They’re not like the buttery and sweet popcorn I used to get while I was growing up. I am not sure if there is such popcorn in Paris. Perhaps I should check.

Day 221: Bone-y drains (and Project Inside Out)

Street arts in Paris are not strictly-wall endeavours. As you can see, footpath is as good a canvas as a blank wall. Not only that, it can be smartly done to incorporate objects present including a drain cover. The grille as rib cage of spray-on skeleton, why not?

And speaking of street art, the artist JR is currently in collaboration with Centre Georges Pompidou to encourage everyone to take part in becoming an art movement. Have your picture taken, printed to a poster size, and you’re then to put it somewhere public as part of the Project Inside Out. Pretty cool idea if you’re open to having your face publicly admired ;)

Day 196: La vanité…

Parisians are, in general, a stylish lot of people. Standing at the fringe, I often wonder where so-and-so bought her effortlessly fabulous outfit and fashionable item of clothing/accessory/footwear. Often I couldn’t help feeling a little dowdy in comparison but reminded myself in turn that these don’t change who I am, only the “outer shell”, of what I wear.

La vanité mise à nu par ses thuriféraires is another thought-provoking sculpture by Daniel Hourdé, installed just across the road from Désillusion totale, that perfectly represents the stripping of vanity to reveal the fundamentals, the depth beneath this layer of superficial mask. We are vulnerable under it all; usually only the most devoted see this side of us, with the truest standing by us unconditionally. Trust of this kind is hard to come by and if you have earned it, never take it for granted.


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