Go Soft
In April 2014, during a production residency at Lafayette Anticipations, Valerie Snobeck made the video Go Soft, dedicated to the so-called “skeleton” watch produced by the Shell company from 1940 on. In this film, the American artist, who had already worked on this oil company, follows the meticulous repair of the movement of this small object for over an hour and a half. The camera focuses on the hands of the master watchmaker as he removes each of the parts of the mechanism before reassembling them one by one. The letters “SHELL” on one of the dismantled gears are a reminder that the watch was originally lubricated with motor oil for advertising and promotional purposes. By focusing on this detail, the artist highlights the economic imperialism practiced by the Shell group. At the junction of political, ecological, and aesthetic concerns, Valerie Snobeck’s work summons up the current need for reparation on both a climatic and human level.
Text written by Franny Tachon as part of the partnership between the École du Louvre and Lafayette Anticipations – Fonds de dotation Famille Moulin.
Work produced with the support of Lafayette Anticipations — Fondation d’entreprise Galeries Lafayette in 2014.
Exhibitions
Centrul Internațional de Artă Contemporană Baia Turcească, Iassy (Roumanie)
from 14 May to 31 Jul 2025
Lafayette Anticipations - Fondation Galeries Lafayette, Paris (France)
from 11 Oct to 23 Oct 2016
Galeries Lafayette, Paris (France)
from 03 Jun to 04 Jun 2016
Au croisement de préoccupations politiques, économiques et esthétiques, le travail de Valerie Snobeck fonctionne par accumulation, superposition et fusion de matériaux naturels et artificiels. Ses œuvres associent des éléments issus de divers milieux et époques, par exemple du plastique, du goudron, de la toile de jute ou de denim, des verreries, des images anciennes ou des impressions jet d’encre, afin de soulever des questions environnementales ou sociales. Dans son travail qui relève aussi bien de la photographie et de la sculpture que de la vidéo, le processus, complexe et multiple, compte autant que le produit fini.
Née en 1980 à Wadena (États-Unis), Valerie Snobeck vit et travaille à New York. Elle a obtenu un BFA à la Cloud State University de St. Cloud et un MFA à l’université de Chicago.
