At the heart of the Library, under its fabulous cupola, Raphaël Barontini has created and hung a monumental textile artwork.
In keeping with earlier compositions, the artist has come up with a patchwork image of overlapping patterns and colors. Here, he highlights a subject often left out of history books and official representations: the Creole storyteller, a character who has handed down thousands of adventures and epics, thereby preserving ostracized memories. The piece, hung at the heart of an institution whose abundant collection includes works dating back to the Middle Ages, blends historical fact, fiction and dreams. The Creole storyteller resonates with other figures in the oral tradition, such as the troubadours of Occitania or griots of Africa.

Constructed like a collage combining dyed fabrics, silkscreen panels and digital textile prints, the installation suggests a link between periods, geographies and imaginations. The artist likes to quote writer Patrick Chamoiseau: “The storytellers’ word is the sound in their throat, but also their sweat, their eye-rolling, their belly, the drawing of their hands, their smell, that of the company, the sound of the ka (a Creole drum from Guadeloupe) and all the silences. To which must be added, the surrounding night, the rain if it rains, the silent vibrations of the world.” Solibo magnifique, 1991.

After his major installation at the Panthéon in 2024, Raphaël Barontini takes a delicate, generous and poetic approach, and reaffirms once more his audacity and visual mastery. By combining inspirations to question our reference-points, the artist invites us to think on the importance of taking care of our collective memories, all while provoking the imagination.

Production le Nouveau Printemps.

Ce projet bénéficie du concours du ministère de la Culture, dans le cadre de son programme de soutien à la commande artistique.