Tangible 2026 - Des marteaux et des fèves

Exhibition proposed by the MIJO club at Système C. It brings together a publication, a series of six sculptures and a collection of six fèves representing Saint-Étienne. Hammer sculptures and fèves come together in this space around the theme of multiples.

The hammer project is the result of an attempt to exhaust the form, carried out through the form of this object. 200 hammers were painted in gouache, 122 were selected, and descriptive texts were then written for each of them. Each text assigns a use inferred from the form resulting from the gouache paintings. The absurd and satirical humour is inspired by the game The Sims, and more specifically by its descriptive texts in furniture catalogues. These uses humorously question consumerism, our relationship with objects and work. The inventory of the hammers appears in a publication using the codes of advertising catalogues. We drew inspiration from the promotional catalogues of the Saint-Étienne supermarket group Casino, from the 1900s to the 1990s, held in Saint-Étienne archives. We played with the aesthetic codes of their graphic design. To push the commercial notion of these publications further, we created six sculptures that re-enact the fake objects. These volumes act as advertising products, nodding to the marketing objects that punctuate the launch of a new product. Through their volumes, the hammers recover their original plasticity.

The fèves project evokes the mass production of souvenir objects and the way a space can be synthesised in miniature through the strong symbols it conveys. Six fèves are present in this space. They act as miniature objects of affection through which we can project our memories connected to the memory of a city. The desire to shape them by hand makes it impossible to complete the collection. Made by hand, each fève is unique, so no one can truly collect them all. Reclaiming this object, the fève, also aims to bring art into everyday life. Anyone who buys a galette can have a ceramic artwork. These fèves take the form of shoes, an object that has recently become a collector’s item, adding a nod to discovering a city by walking through it. This project focuses on the representation of cities and their symbols, their importance to residents and to tourism.

In the exhibition space, it will be possible to make your own paper hammer during the “your life, your hammer” workshop, which will take place continuously.

Every evening from 18:00, the exhibition will be punctuated by events using the codes of promotion and advertising.

Programme:
15 October: hyper-realistic cake hammers (real or cake)
16 October: Sainté Shoes (bingo)
17 October: Piñataptap (piñata)
18 October: Saint-Étienne draw (a fève to win by eating matefaims, Saint-Étienne apple fritters)