El Mehdi Largo
"Brassière de sauvetage Laziza"
2015
Life jacket, beach mat.
75 × 40 × 10 cm
Unique
Location: Paris, France
Arianee token ID
717902923
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About the artwork
Composed of a standard flotation vest overlaid with patterned textile elements resembling a beach mat, the construction reconfigures functional survival gear into a cultural artifact. The surface pattern integrates ornamental damask motifs into the textile covering of the life-preserving equipment, juxtaposing notions of leisure, domesticity, and maritime peril. The juxtaposition addresses Mediterranean migration routes and the systemic conditions surrounding transit and refuge. By merging the iconography of tourism—represented by the beach mat texture—with the emergency apparatus of a marine life jacket, the object functions as a material critique of geopolitical inequality and the disparities inherent in global mobility.
Expert opinion
This sculpture operates within the tradition of readymades and conceptual object manipulation, redirecting utilitarian mass-produced items toward socio-political critique. By merging domestic textiles with industrial safety equipment, the artist engages with the discourse on migration and borders prevalent in 21st-century contemporary art.
About the artist
El Mehdi Largo is a visual artist born in 1992 in Mohammedia, Morocco, who lives and works in Paris. He graduated from the École supérieure des beaux-arts du Le Mans in 2015. His practice encompasses photography, video, installation, and textile sculptures, frequently engaging with physical and cultural displacement, geopolitics, and identity. His production investigates the structural conditions of migration, border crossings, and the friction between Western perceptions and North African realities. By utilizing everyday utilitarian objects, such as life jackets and mats, the creator constructs material dialogues addressing contemporary socio-political conditions. His works have been included in institutional exhibitions and fairs, including presentations at the Société Générale headquarters and various contemporary art events in France and abroad.
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