Nose cave, Jean Bonichon, 2018-2020

Work produced for "La Biennale Chemin d'art" with the support of the Champ Libre association

"When can we visit this monument?
Edmond Rostand, Cyrano de Bergerac (The Nose Tirade), 1897

"(...) The whole ambivalence of the attribute is that this almost insignificant posture has nonetheless left its mark on history and art. Nobody remembers Cleopatra's ears, Greek lips or Bourbon eyes. The nose is only remembered by the posterity of kings and rulers, right up to the Sphinx of Giza, where it is rather lacking. Paradoxically, it is above all the discretion of the nasal filler that counts and, despite its continuous and most vital work, this workaholic must manage its activity in a mute and unfathomable manner. When, inadvertently, the nose becomes too noisy, whether sneezing, sniffing or snoring, people take offence or make fun of it, and the wearer feels the embarrassment associated with social decorum; immediately, the author of the uncontrolled lurch apologises at the idea that his miasma has spilled into the noses of the audience. Only Gargantua, with his peppery way of speaking, would turn this into a poetic play on language, as he 'enrages' his words with his snot (...)".
Jean Bonichon, extract from the text presenting his work, 2018.