New Installation Expands His Critique of Global Capitalism and Its Soldiers
Street Artist and Public Artist Isaac Cordal has just finished his most expansive installation of his little corporate and military men to date in Nantes, the city once known as the European capital of the human slave trade. “Follow the Leaders” is “a critical reflection on our inertia as a social mass,” explains Cordal as he describes the massive installation of about 2000 individual pieces.
Isaac Cordal. Nantes, France. June 2013 (photo © Luis Garcia)
As part of the summer long Le Voyage à Nantes, a large series of installations and cultural events throughout the French city, Cordal’s sad little men again trudge through a grey and soulless world, sometimes staring, sometimes drowning, their dour and thoroughly spent demeanor only lightened by their miniature scale.
Isaac Cordal. Nantes, France. June 2013 (photo © Luis Garcia)
It is meant as “a metaphor for the collapse of capitalism and the side effects of progress,” he says of the three month installation whose main stage at the Place du Bouffay occupies a 20 m x 18 m space that is illuminated at night. While you may recognize the businessmen figures you may not remember seeing the military soldiers that now mingle freely in these barren and destroyed landcapes. With these slight alterations, including the technological addition of wiring and electricity, common area feels like occupied area in a state of continuous war. The effect of Cordals work is now is darker than before, even in the daylight, and deserves our attention.
Isaac Cordal. Nantes, France. June 2013 (photo © Luis Garcia)
Isaac Cordal. Nantes, France. June 2013 (photo © Luis Garcia)
Isaac Cordal. Nantes, France. June 2013 (photo © Luis Garcia)
Isaac Cordal. Nantes, France. June 2013 (photo © Luis Garcia)
Isaac Cordal. Nantes, France. June 2013 (photo © Luis Garcia)
Isaac Cordal. Nantes, France. June 2013 (photo © Luis Garcia)
Isaac Cordal. Nantes, France. June 2013 (photo © Isaac Cordal)
Isaac Cordal. Nantes, France. June 2013 (photo © Isaac Cordal)
Isaac Cordal. Nantes, France. June 2013 (photo © Isaac Cordal)
Isaac Cordal. Nantes, France. June 2013 (photo © Luis Garcia)
Isaac Cordal. Nantes, France. June 2013 (photo © Isaac Cordal)
Isaac Cordal. Nantes, France. June 2013 (photo © Isaac Cordal)
Isaac Cordal. Nantes, France. June 2013 (photo © Isaac Cordal)
Isaac Cordal. Nantes, France. June 2013 (photo © Isaac Cordal)
Mr. Cordal would like to thank all the people who helped him to realize the project, Le Voyage Nantes (especially David, Marie, Nathan, Gregoire and Catherine), his fantastic team; Cyril, Xavier, Eric, Pierre,Wielfried, Fabienne, Elizabeth Coutant and Elizabeth Ausina, Cristophe, Elliot, Luis, Stephan, Julian, Romain, Yves, Jan (Beaufort), Valérie, and his friends and family.
For more information on Follow the Leaders, please click HERE
<<>>><><<>BSA<<>>><<<>><><BSA<<>>><><<>BSA<<>>><<<>><><BSA
Please note: All content including images and text are © BrooklynStreetArt.com, unless otherwise noted. We like sharing BSA content for non-commercial purposes as long as you credit the photographer(s) and BSA, include a link to the original article URL and do not remove the photographer’s name from the .jpg file. Otherwise, please refrain from re-posting. Thanks!
<<>>><><<>BSA<<>>><<<>><><BSA<<>>><><<>BSA<<>>><<<>><><BSA
Other Articles You May Like from BSA:
Welcome to BSA Images of the Week. Worried that voting rights are being stolen from black and brown people in a systematic way across the country? Let Mitch McConnell put your fears to rest. ...
Happy Holidays to all of you charming and sparkling BSA readers! It’s been a raucous sleigh ride with you and we thank everyone most sincerely for your support and participation this year. A sort o...
Dude, Dudette, this is the moment to make the most of Summer before it in subsumed into crazy New York fall. There is so much art on the streets you may not even want to go inside. Actually, if yo...
Welcome to BSA Images of the Week. The first day of February brought New York a blizzard - a foot and a half of snow, complete with winds and drifts and buried cars. It drives everyone outside to...
Clearly we cannot bury our heads in the sand anymore, for those of us who are tempted to. We try to make light of things here or at least add levity, but right now many of our community in NYC are...