Théophile Blandet (1993) makes objects that “never really reveal what they are.” Flawlessly executed in an extremely skilful way, and resembling things you might be able to use, they immediately incite curiosity. However, trying to decipher their actual purpose will lead to confusion.
Blandet studied at the Design Academy Eindhoven, but is mainly interested in creating autonomous artworks while constantly searching for the field of tension between functional object and sculpture. Time plays an important role in his work. This is primarily expressed in the tangible, time-consuming creative process. But with the two sculptures included in Prospects, Blandet also seems to be commenting on the time we live in. The small cabinet with a light, aluminium frame, for instance, has panels made from thin, glass screen protectors which Blandet decorated with images he fleetingly saw on his mobile devices. By painting these, he has frozen them in time, as it were, thus reacting to the transient nature of the daily flood of information reaching us via our screens.
The object next to it resembles a table turned upside down, with carefully handcrafted materials attracting all the attention. But as one of its legs is sticking up into the air like a mast, it might also be a life raft for us to cling onto. This makes the work excitingly ambiguous. Is it a plea to find footing in craftmanship and perfection? Or is the work warning us of the dangers of a material overdose that will eventually lead to our damnation?
Text: Esther Darley
Translation from Dutch to English: Marie Louise Schoondergang