2. - 4. 10.  // 15,00 - 18,00

Siestas Musicales is a musical installation that invites people to participate. Some 30 reclining chairs are set up by the river bank and next to each of them is an old radio. Small transistor radios broadcast music simultaneously and at low volume, bringing back memories of a beach or campsite, where the sound of the radio played by a neighbour on the right blends with that of a neighbour on the left. The snoozer's attention drifts into a no man's land, a drowsiness leading to dreaming. Depending on where one sits, each person hears a musical mix that substantially differs from the one of the others. It is a unique mix at a unique moment, reminding us that music is not a consumer product to be listened in a uniform way by the largest number of listeners possible, but a personal and original experience. And people don’t want to miss it, because it fulfils a wish everyone has: to feel welcome to lie down and relax, a value that is rare in modern society. 

On the other hand, this installation gives the sensation of old rituals, influencing the audience consciously and subconsciously. The artist invites them to become part of his community, to have the same experiences he is enjoying himself. The inspiration for it comes from all sides, from so-called popular culture, from the history of Western and non-Western art. At the same time it takes distance from the ‘banalisation’ of modern pop-music, music that has become part of a consumer machine.   

Etienne Charry is a French composer, musician and multimedia artist who was born in 1962. He is the founder of the “Oui oui” group alongside Michel Gondry, Gilles Chapat and Nicolas Dufournet. His solo works for the Tricatel label are: “36 Erreurs” (1999) and “Aube radieuse Serpents en Flammes” (2002). He composed multiple scores for movies, commercials and television shows. From 1989 he conducted tours with his hand-crafted musical devices. The Grand Magasin company honoured him by inviting him to perform in five of their shows, and for years he has been making musical collections (“Water Holes”, “Brain Salon”...) which he presents as separate compositions and exhibits them on musical séances and creates new ways of spreading music.