Pierre Valls: “So Help Me God”
“So Help Me God”
Napoleon member Nichola Kinch hosts France and Spain based artist Pierre Valls
“So Help Me God” is part of the ongoing project Oaths: Aesthetic of Memory. The investigation started in Havana, Cuba, in 2016 and will travel accross America, Europe and the Middle East, during the two coming years. Oaths of enlistment in the various countries are as many starting points for this exploration.
In this project, Pierre Valls examines processes of military indoctrination, post-traumatic stress disorders and the conflicted milestones in the construction of one’s memory. In Oaths: Aesthetic of Memory, these questions are tackled through the figure of the firstlines fighters or ex-fighters: the veteran in the United States, the young Spanish soldier, or the Lebanese militiaman.
“So Help Me God” offers an immersion into the most intimate american patriotic fabric. At the Napoleon Gallery Valls’s project reconstitutes the multiple layers of washing, molding and programming of the soldier’s body and mind. Videos and installations put the spotlights on the complex machineries that transform human beings into war machines.
Opening Reception
First Friday, December 2nd
6pm – 10pm
NAPOLEON
319 N 11th Street, 2L
Philadelphia, PA
Exhibition Dates: 12.2.16 – 12.18.16
Gallery Hours: Saturdays and Sundays 2pm – 6pm or by appointment
pierrevalls.com
NAPOLEON 