Pliny’s sorrow
In February 2008, the Deyrolle house was ravaged by fire. This Parisian institution houses a store and a very important scientific collection presented in an 18th century mansion. Contemporary artists, including Johan Creten, mobilized to pay tribute to this unusual place. In November of the same year, they exhibited some of their works at the Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature, which were to be dispersed to finance its restoration. Pliny's sorrow contributes to the themes of history and ecology developed by this artist collective.
The tarred bird seems to be extracted from a pool of oil, unless it is charred. It is reminiscent of the Albatross in Charles Baudelaire's Flowers of Evil. The title of the work evokes the sadness of Pliny the Younger (1st century AD) witnessing the eruption of Vesuvius in Pompeii and the disappearance of a civilization. The base, comparable to the shaft of an ancient column, raises the sculpture to the rank of a mortuary monument.
