About Unlimited Basel 2021 exhibition

THE NAUTILUS ROOM 20000 Leagues Under the Sea: I often think of the Nautilus, Captain Nemo's submarine. Jules Verne describes the sophistication of the interior of the submarine. A real place of research, it is a kind of laboratory where rare furniture, armor, vases, curiosities of nature, fountains, books and harmonium organize the confinement ... "I took one last look at these natural wonders, at these treasures of art piled up in this museum, at this unrivaled collection destined to perish one day at the bottom of the sea with the one who had formed it" When I gaze tirelessly at this fascinating print, I feel like it is my portrait! A Portrait of a painter who spends hours scrutinizing the void, its flashes, its appearances… what appears are reminiscences of works seen, details recorded without my knowledge, patterns, stains… It is the unknown that scares people ... & The Nautilus Room It is accessed by a long corridor. It is a secret room. There are no ornaments or sophisticated furniture here: in a dark living room, no giant octopus, but large, bright images. Hybridizations of works. Reminiscences of my trips to Florence, Siena or Pisa "mixed" with details of my own paintings, coats of arms, cartoons, memories of a Sphinx, stains, triumph of Death and other "Memento Mori" I stand still in the center of this room, and I turn imperceptibly on myself. I wait, I listen to lost whispers of subterranean voices, I observe. LND 2021