JULIE LEGOUEZ
W05 / WORK

Aktenzeichen 512-261 
AW//JL 22
(Denn du bist verrückt genug, um dich in dieser Welt zu verlieben.  Aber die Welt ist viel verrückter als du und fast wär etwas von uns geblieben.)


2022 
INSTALLATION

Table, 3 chairs, drawer unit on wheels, filing cabinet, computer with screen saver video, printer with phantom image 29.7x21 cm, mirror foil, 9 blinds, printed mouse pad, lamp, framed photo (file) 80x60 cm, framed return receipt 30x30 cm, framed emergency plan 29.7x21 cm, framed collage 70x100 cm, 21 observation photos 13x18 cm on whiteboard 180x127x57 cm, printed cup, ceramic dolphins, plastic plants, framed family portrait 18x13cm, sound work from walkie-talkie, office utensils, magnifying glass

The file contains:
- analogue photograph of the object
- passport photo of the subject, 2 photographs of a bouquet of flowers (1st in vase, 2nd in trash can)
- booklet with all photographs I sent him via Signal
- 15-page final report
- Polaroid photograph of two ceramic dolphins
- Wikipedia entry about Jacques Lacan
- all the notes/poems I wrote during the period
- a bag of bread crumbs (in case we get lost)




WORK TEXT

In one of Legouez’s latest works, Aktenzeichen 512-261 AW//JL 22… (2022), she lets the viewer in on a recent breakup. The separation itself is treated like a crime scene, the installation its investigation. Illuminated by an overhead fluorescent light, a bleak scene meets the viewer: an anonymous wall clock, a filing cabinet, a desk cluttered with office supplies. Central to the installation is a photograph of an archival file containing diary pages, poems, and photographs of objects with emotional value, which Legouez collected after the breakup. She documented and assembled all the objects into a single file, which was then sent to her ex-lover, who was asked to confirm the arrival of the parcel in writing.

What remains, except for the documentation, is merely the return receipt: a cold, transactional object. Expressed in the language of administration, it is a perfect metaphor for the business-like logic of modern-day romance. Love is not just governed by feelings, but all the more by self-interest and a sense of investment. Legouez’s appropriation of administrative tools effectively nullifies the emotional value of the personal items. She logs and files the objects away, stripping them of their sentiments. A broken heart becomes a matter of classification. Most striking is the physical absence of the file itself, an absence that echoes the lack of emotions embedded in the work’s bureaucratic language.

Text:  Josefine Granetoft
EXHIBITION VIEW 
ÜBERN BERG 
LOCALIZE FESTIVAL
POTSDAM, 2022


PHOTOGRAPHY
JULIE LEGOUEZ


PHOTO OF FILE: SASCHA REBRIKOV 
 


INSTALLATION VIEWS


EXHIBITION VIEW 
MESSAGES
GALERIE M
BERLIN, 2022

PHOTOGRAPHY
JULIE LEGOUEZ
& WOLFGANG STRACK

INSTALLATION VIEWS



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