[Title] cloudy, fair late afternoon
[Artist] Alain Bublex
[Date] January 19 – March 14, 2006
The first artist to express Hermès’ 2006 theme, “l’Air de Paris” (Paris in the air), is the French artist, Alain Bublex. Hermès has presented many story-based windows before, but this window exhibits a “real story.” It is the story of the “making of the window.” With tool boxes and boards in the background, six mannequins wearing the 2006 Spring/Summer collection are hard at work.
What each mannequin has in hand is the “Paris sky.” Thinking that the expression of the sky is very influential to the overall look of Paris more than any other city, the artist uses scenes from the sky that he photographed himself, and directs a stage where the mannequins try to put them together onto the ceiling or the background. Why does the Paris sky have so much influence on the landscape? Alain states, “It may be because the buildings have similar colors and heights.” Because the Paris sky is seldom clear blue, but more often rich tones of gray, the artist connected the theme with a cloudy sky. Indeed, in Concord or along the Seine, in places where the sky spreads before your eyes, you can recognize once again the beauty of the sky in this city, whether it is cloudy or raining.
The box of “sky” represents the symbolic meaning of “bringing the air of Paris to Tokyo.” The word “air” sounds simple, but the word also carries meanings of daily weather and atmosphere. The box of “sky”, which gently changes color, is produced in order to convey the rich nuances of Paris.
Alain Bublex
Born in Lyon in 1961, currently living in Paris. After working on car design, Bublex became an artist, working with a variety of mediums such as photography and installations. He is known for works that create concepts from the viewpoint of particular places and regions, or works focusing on maps and buildings.