SIMPLON EXPRESS – RETURN
Zagreb – Paris
La Galerie des Locataires (The Gallery of Tenants)
(June 2012)
Mobile, ephemeral exhibition Simplon Express was realized in June 1989 on a train traveling from Paris to Zagreb. 23 years later we are revisiting the same itinerary with new passengers but in opposite direction, from Zagreb to Paris: the Return.
Last 23 years have brought out deep historical, economical, cultural and social changes along this itinerary. In 1989 the Berlin wall was torn down, a few years later Yugoslavia disappeared and in 2001 the Simplon Express itself stopped running.
The return trip will incorporate images from the 1989's nearly idyllic voyage, consisting of numerous artistic interventions in the ambience which invoked day-dreaming. Today, the paradox of changes that have occurred during the years make this voyage complex and problematic. It manifests contemporary preoccupations on the international art scene.
– Ida Biard
www.simplonexpress.com