La Maison du Gênant Géni

For millennia, architecture has been a symbol of human culture. We look at the ruins of other civilizations as both a proof of their existence and the distance between modern times and antiquity. In daily life, we think of buildings and houses as stable and enduring, but the worn-down fragments of previous civilizations remind us of our structural mortality.  Not only will we die, but even the homes that we leave behind will disappear. After wars and natural disasters, photographers capture the poignancy of destruction. Be it through violent conflict or climatic events, we understand tragedy as a family lost in the rubble that was once their home. Architecture reminds us of who we are and often of what we have lost.

La Maison du gênant déni transforms the hard data of global warming into a simple and powerful image: a melting house. Both arresting and accessible, this installation touches on the universal human reality of impermanence and the specific and urgent dilemmas we face as a species. Like much of Leandro Erlich’s work, this piece strikes a chord in the unconscious, using a dream-like visual lexicon, and also references a timely concern.  Located in front of the busy Gare du Nord, La Maison will interrupt commuters' everyday lives with a reminder of what is to come if we do not change our ways. On view during the the United Nations Climate Change Conference, this installation will accompany the city’s focus on this global crisis.