ART BY TRANSLATION

The House of Dust by Alison Knowles
INHABITED BY PEOPLE FROM MANY WALKS OF LIFE

Lou Maria Le Brusq

Métaplasme : Conapt
2017, variable dimensions
Mixed materials: concrete blocks, drywall, glass bricks, bricks, wood, diverse printing techniques

A HOUSE OF GLASS
IN A DESERTED AIRPORT
USING ELECTRICITY
INHABITED BY ONE MAN

Lou Maria Le Brusq was inspired by this quatrain of Alison Knowles’ poem to study The House of Dust by way of the neologism ‘conapt,’ invented by science-fiction writer Phillip K. Dick, and originating from the contraction of the words ‘condominium’ (a building containing several individually-owned apartments), and ‘apartment.’ To honour the collaborative and generative dimension of Knowles’ work, Le Brusq launched an open call for contributions, and organized several seminars that took place within her installation. Using a variety of construction materials in response to the heterogeneity of the existing architecture, this installation appears like a workspace under construction, and as such is a stage setting to expose the research process while adapting to the technical necessities required to advance a collective reflection. What was presented was not only the result of the research, but an act of translation achieved by the artist, who took the risk of letting herself be taken over, or derailed, by the emergence of new ideas and forms. In the image of The House of Dust and of ‘Conapt’, this architecture might emancipate itself from its author, while remaining dependent on its usages. A project developed within the Art by Translation program.