Le Tiret
Sculpture, booklet and public events
Triennale Bex & Arts 2020
22.6.–18.10.2020
This project is based on an investigation carried out since 2015 on the grave of novelist Alice Rivaz (1901-1998), echoing her own writings, in particular the metaphor of the hyphen separating the dates of birth and death meant to "contain our whole life". With this simple punctuation mark, Rivaz had developed in several of her texts a profound reflection on life as a passage – from one place to another, from one era to another – and on the often invisible practices of care and attention that sustain our existence.
At the invitation of the Bex & Arts Triennale, Aurélien Gamboni designed a stone sculpture from the hyphen on the tombstone of Alice Rivaz, known as one of the great writer of Swiss literature and a pioneering feminist novelist.
Carved out of Swiss Alpine granite by sculptor Vincent DuBois (Atelier CAL'AS), the sculpture can be seen as an object of gaze and distracted curiosity – a typographic sign lost in the landscape, both imposing and discreet – and as a support, halfway between a bench and a platform, welcoming those who would like to stop off and giving ground to a series of public meetings.
In the absence of any other sign, Le Tiret appears as an incomplete symbol, intended to open up a space for reflection based on the image of thought bequeathed to us by Alice Rivaz, here materialized in granite. Echoing the Triennale's theme "Industria", this sculpture is an invitation to think about and embody the tension between different times and worlds, and the movement that pulls us from one to the other. How can we reappropriate this movement to envisage new ways of making transition, between heritages to be rethought and futures to be rewritten? While at first glance the hyphen may evoke a form of vanity, mainly symbolizing the finitude of all things, once stripped of its dates it seems to open up new possibilities.
As part of the Triennale, and despite the limitations imposed by the pandemic, a first event took place on September 13, with a "readers' assembly" (participatory readings of Rivaz texts) and a meeting with members of the Alice Rivaz Association to discuss their long-standing commitment to the dissemination and critical reception of her work.
A 44-page booklet accompanies the project, featuring a series of interview fragments with Rivaz specialists, acquaintances and family members. This edition retraces the investigation into the writer's grave, while offering a glimpse into the wealth of possible interpretations of "Alice's hyphen".
Following this exhibition, the sculpture was temporarily housed in the courtyard of the Collège pour adultes Alice Rivaz (CPOAD), before being installed in the grounds of the Villa Bernasconi - center d'art de Lancy. A collective was then formed under the name of Institut d'étude des intervalles (iEi), mandated to organize a program of annual public events around Le Tiret until 2031:
i-e-i.net
Sculpture conceived by Aurélien Gamboni and realized by Vincent Du Bois, studio Cal-AS, Lancy
Coproduction: Bex & Arts Triennial and Villa Bernasconi – centre d'art de Lancy
Supported by the City of Geneva, the City of Lancy, and Ongaro & Co S.A.
Booklet designed by Schaffter Sahli, and printed at 800 copies by Noir sur Noir, Geneva
> investigations : Le Tiret d'Alice
> projects : Le Tiret d'Alice Rivaz (Habiter l'intervalle)
> text : Le Tiret