Reels

From 15 February to 23 June 2024, the Cité du design presents the work of the 2023 graduates of Saint-Étienne Higher School of Art and Design (ESADSE). The exhibition put together by a guest curator under the title Reels poses the question of reality and how it is perceived. Between studies, graduation and confrontation with the public, a new  combination plays out that lies somewhere between memory and projection, between the end of one cycle and the beginning of a new one.

What does an exhibition of graduates' degree projects mean? Is it a first confrontation with real life? In any case, it is obviously the culmination of the student phase. It is not yet real life, but the crest of a wave taking us there. The Reels exhibition is a manifestation of that state: a wave, a movement, a sort of drive wheel that carries us forward.

"Reels" when written without an accent in French, becomes ambiguous in its meaning. Real - réel - or reel in the English sense? Both of course. The English word "reel" is a common term on social media, especially on Instagram, which has popularised a new form.  Reels are short films, mostly scripted, sometimes edited and set to music. Like everything that appears on social media, they reflect a sort of reality but are not actually reality.

So the choice of the word Reels as the title of the exhibition poses this question of reality and how it is perceived. So what makes Reels real? Where does reality begin and where does it end? Here we will find projects that sometimes have real implications in our everyday lives and also some that have visibly fewer, but still have the ability to transform us just as much. Everything fits into a scenography consisting of a cheerful, slightly chaotic concentric movement, but also into our reality. A far cry from reels.

To continue with the idea of Reels and therefore the notion of circling and looping, the exhibition has been designed around a circular space that radiates outwards, using the available display walls and stands. The visitor can embrace the entire display in one look, a bit like a snapshot giving an overall picture at a given moment. The display stands and wall are arranged to create different heights in the space. Videos are projected from the periphery onto the backs of the display walls.

The works of plastic artists are mixed with those of designers, without any rank order. Each item is displayed on an equal footing. As a result, the exhibition layout adapts to the dimensions and needs of each piece of work.

The final degree project is a rite of passage that marks the end of one cycle and the beginning of a new one. ESDADSE promotes its students' degree projects with a catalogue and an exhibition at the Cité du design. The Reels exhibition put together by guest curator Didier Courbot features the work of some thirty young artists and designers who graduated from the School in 2023. Through their work, they are expressing their individual points of view, exploring new languages as well as testifying to the creative force of our school of art and design.

ReelsDes étudiants de l’Esadse face caméra