Etienne Chambaud Mirror, 2024

The large-scale work titled Mirror consists of a found butcher's block that has been modified. Presented on the wall, the surface of the object has been covered in aluminum, gold and palladium leaf, transforming the former cutting device into an optical one. Not only preserving but accentuating the visibility of the marks left in the wood by knives and bones, the surface now reflects and modulates its surrounding lights. Mirror acts as a plane of symmetry that is not only spatial, but also temporal: it reveals its past use in the manner of a negative portrait of fragmented gestures and bodies and also captures the light in the exhibition space, as well as the ghostly reflections of visitors.