Menschen

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Menschen
Menschen © Muriel Chaulet
Horaires
Thursday 8, Friday 9 & Saturday 10: 8 p.m. to midnight
Sunday 11: 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.

In a nutshell

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960 colourful torches - from different times and places - were collected by Philippe Morvan on his travels through Europe to bring us an installation that is both impressive and poignant.
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Let yourself be carried along on a carousel of light and sound. Philippe Morvan’s installation Menschen is monumental: 8 huge pillars holding up a 9-metre crown housing 960 pocket torches of all shapes and sizes from all corners of Europe. They have been upcycled to create a circular screen displaying a graphic light show. Each of the vintage torches represents a person - a Mensch - one of the 70,000 candle-carrying demonstrators who took to the streets of Leipzig on October 9, 1989 to demand freedom and democracy in the “peaceful revolution”. Beyond its architectural and artistic role, Menschen is intended as a work of remembrance.

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Guess what!

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This installation was premiered in Leipzig in 2019 to mark the 30th anniversary of the peaceful revolution of the former GDR. Each torch is a memorial to one particular person. They were collected in about thirty European countries and pay tribute to the cultural diversity of Europe. The installation also reminds us of past times with an object which used to be found in every home to guide and reassure us, or alternatively, to watch and control us.

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Interesting fact

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Menschen is designed to stand out at night but looks quite different during the day: the vertical stripes created by the beams of light inside the crown are replicated on the outside in paint. You will be enchanted by this dynamic display with over sixty hues.

Artist Philippe Morvan

Production Zone One

Support Institut Français ; Ville de Leipzig

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