Nicolas Manenti

My artworks are using a corporate imagery to settle a world that is constantly walking on a thin line, between the ridicule and the ominous. Through it, I attempt to point out the archaisms, the persistence of authoritarian structures in a society that tries to keep an “advanced” and “modern” image.
Notably, I often question the morality of work: the urge for employment and the contempt of the idleness, a topic which is commonly instrumentalized in the public debate. I try to extend this framework extends to larger existential topics, such as our relation to social conventions or the passing of time. To do it, I adopt a distanced point of view, by putting the viewer or myself in the position of a stranger, or even an intruder to the chaotic environments I present.
The dryness of standardized furniture and the stubborn repetitive acts are always counteracted by an incongruous element, a glimpse of absurdness which appear in different ways depending on the works. I take on charismatic attitudes to measure how close they are to the ridiculous, or conversely, I transform the most innocuous and idiotic actions into acts of sabotage: for example, by copying documents in a damaging way for the text and the support (Taphonomy) or by thwarting the use of furniture (Growth, We Make It Happen). By doing so, I point out our illusory confidence in our daily routines, to settle a score with our alienation. I aim to put reality at a distance by questioning its own image.