Bruyantes

Jonathan Apelbaum

Portraits Bruyante(s)" is an interactive documentary installation featuring the cognitive paintings of Jonathan Apelbaum. The installation addresses the political divergence, economical and environmental crisis within the EU and the world at large through the relationships of five queer couples in Berlin. These relationships are characterized by economic, gender, sexual identities and social crises: Thams & Lucy, Mariam & Panos, Pili & Unai, Sara & Eleonor, Sophie & Jack. Jonathan works the canvas through layers of oil paintings that reveal the lives of these individuals. The LED panels function as introspective scanners, gradually revealing fragments of their lives to the viewer, akin to a canvas camera following these individuals. Daily life in Berlin raises similar issues for everyone, and romantic, sexual, and friendly relationships serve as an escape from the social and economic problems, childhood traumas, and conflicts. The nightlife and associated practices are commonplace for everyone, often serving as the setting for Jonathan's initial encounters, which open up intimate moments and establish an impressive closeness with the couple, capturing the essence of their living conditions episodically in a few images. Overlapping recording of radio, livestream, Documentaries, happenings at the moment where the people are being portraited, layers after layers the intimate is becoming an interwoven political, economical and environmental issue. Collaborating with Marco Colocci, a longtime partner and sound artist with whom Jonathan previously inaugurated the solo exhibition "Family" in 2022 at Artco, and Titouan Duflo, an artist-engineer who developed the interactive part of the piece, along with architect Alexandra Tsampanaki, who executed the scenography.