Nathalie Talec "Frozen Language" Solo Exhibition

Pre-Silent Dialogue-Object Installation 2003 Post-Series Video Art 1981-2008 Nathalie Talec "Frozen Language" solo exhibition: exhibited at the Val-de-Marne Contemporary Art Museum starting January 25, 2009. Nathalie Talec (born 1960) is one of France's most representative contemporary artists. The "Frozen Language" exhibition in this freezing winter offers viewers a unique experience, as Europe has been particularly cold this year with snow and ice everywhere; this chilling physical experience and sensation are presented in this innovative "Frozen Language" show. Nathalie Talec explores the cold, desolate world, developing her imaginative and poetic space amidst a frozen virgin land. The artist virtually assumes the role of an Arctic adventurer, intending to explore this extremely harsh and mysterious world. She states: "I think there are similarities between the figures of polar explorers and artists. They both explore unknown territories, accept the challenges of reality, and based on discoveries in different situations, attempt to develop that mysterious unknown. They both hope to find a result, a form, through an action, a movement, an object, and a report."

Nathalie Talec believes "cold is an abstract state: snow is such a manifestation, light and soft, exactly opposite to freezing or frosting." She continues, "For me, freezing cold is not a metaphor for death or hell; it is a fixed state, a pause in time, giving things a period of time. It is a resting state, a sensory state: it tests shivering or frostbite. It is a state within limits—when (under ice) too cold causes burning, an absorbing state (it absorbs sound, smell, form), and a state of things, measured by mercury in a thermometer." "When called cold, choosing the result of measurement. Such zero degrees Celsius (C), zero degrees Fahrenheit (F), zero Kelvin (K)... clearly here I propose zero degrees T, like my surname, as a symbolic and virtual template for creation."

The "Frozen Language" solo exhibition presents two series of freezer storage room installations, leading viewers into a cold world where a chill rises from the heart. Nathalie Talec's diverse exploration revolves around the icy world, encompassing painting, objects, photographs, video, reports, and environmental spatial installations. Notable are the artist's virtual polar adventurer series photographs, wearing fur coats, black or iron glasses for warmth, faces peeled by frost, situated in the freezing polar regions. A pure white sled, a white neon canoe, snow iron shoes, and a quirky electric heater present objects in "Frozen Language" that clearly reference imagined icy adventures. A dedicated report narrating icy experiences resembles the artist's own firsthand experience after returning from exploration. This is followed by a series of graffiti sketches and geometric paintings under the pause of icy times. An art video installation presents the artist's performance art videos from the past ten years. Two environmental spatial installations include one empty room with walls covered in black thermal insulation air cushions, which seep moisture due to temperature changes, indicating the freezing situation. Another features a green rectangular ceiling installation with four sides of neon lights, creating a warm feeling under the light, seemingly a space for warmth and survival on the icy ground. Finally, data and documentary videos from the artist's personal expedition to the Arctic Circle guide viewers between the virtual and real, imagination and poetry, metaphor and reference, into this freezing world. After leaving the museum, continuing to feel this chill, which will no longer be imaginary or virtual, allows people to better grasp the truth of Nathalie Talec's "Frozen Language."