Apocalypse Copie

In Port-au-Prince, the street is multi-functional and public space can becomes either an art gallery, a soccer field, a theatre or a concert hall or a market, a place to offer merchandises or services. The photocopiers are as close as possible to the customers, in front of the school. The street is the space of anger too, where demonstrations against the price of gasoline or corruption take place, just as nowadays.

Haitians live in the poorest country from the Americas, being the first independent Black country they are a burden for their colons who had never really accepted it. Photocopiers had a first phase in industrialized countries and are now facing their last days in Haiti, in a contrary movement to immigration.

This small street business has been called by their owners: Apocalypse Copie, probably as a reference to their faith. The Apocalypse also announces an imminent end, maybe as the photocopier which end is coming soon. Depending on the interpretation from the bible, it can be a message of hope for the oppressed, or a critical vision of the state of the world.

In this action with 5 people and 5 photocopiers, one starts by making a copy of a black page, the second one makes a copy from the copy, and so on up to the fifth. In the process the copy becomes more and more clear. In a second action, the process takes place starting with a white resulting in a darker fifth sheet.
Original and copies merge, black and white pages give similars copies, with above 500 sheets of degraded scalegray.

In collaboration with Apocalypse Copie: Louis-Jean Samuel, Seide Jacklin, Colos Fransel, Jean-Charles Jean-Claudel and Gilles Elisme.
Assistant: Staloff Tropfort
Port-au-Prince (Haiti) 2018