sound installation
Concept: Sébastien Roux
Designing and diary collecting: Olivier Vadrot
Voice: Laurent Poitrenaux, Agnès Pontier
Nikki is a confortable and soundproof piece of furniture that invites one to listen to a selection of diaries recorded in studio by actors. Texts are organized by dates. One listens first to the diary those corresponds to the date of listening. So, when visiting Nikki on december 6th, one will listen to Paul Gauguin’s diary of december 6th 1895. On the next day, one will listen to André Gide’s diary of december 7th 1921, etc.
Then, the visitor can explore the past dates, travelling back in time, after day after day.
Content:
The content is based on diaries written between 1008 (Murasaki Shikibu’s diary) and early 2000s. Diarists come from various horizons : writers, architects, philosophers, explorers, scientists, musicians, poets, movie makers, soldiers, actors, journalists, painters, politicians, etc. The fonction varies: intimate or mundane moments of life, philosophical thoughts, work notes, war or exploration diaries…