Sabotage

Nicolas Daubanes envisions a “sabotaged work”: a tribute, from the Matabiau neighborhood, to acts of resistance.

The artist continues the research he began during his residency at the Villa Medici last year. His work is part of an ongoing experiment, punctuated by several scenographic installations that engage in dialogue with various spaces and historical works.

The interplay of rhythm, movement, and variation among several works within the same cycle is captured in the title’s momentum: “Sur le fait, par erreur et au hasard". This quote from the film *Night and Fog* (Alain Resnais, 1956) evokes the momentum of injustice—specifically that of random and arbitrary arrests. Injustice thus becomes the common motif linking the productions and trajectories of the different stages of this work, constituting their center of gravity.

For Le Nouveau Printemps in Toulouse, the artist creates a sculpture made of concrete and sugar, a tribute to acts of sabotage. The addition of sugar to the concrete is inspired by the actions of resistance fighters during World War II, when, once taken prisoner, they were forced to participate in the construction of the Atlantic Wall to protect the Third Reich in the West. The sugar, immersed in the still-fresh concrete, creates a state of fragility as it dries: a discreet act of sabotage, a silent and desperate struggle.

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The artist is also in residence at Maison Salvan, where he presents “Sur le fait, par erreur et au hasard” from March 11 to May 2, 2026.

Sur le fait, par erreur et au hasard Nicolas Daubanes has recently embarked on the production of a series of photograms. These are the result of a veritable battle in the dark and arise from the tensions between the accidental and the controlled. Through these works, Nicolas Daubanes also evokes moments linked to the history of the Villa Medici. The theme of confinement is prominent here, particularly through the figure of Galileo. His residency allows him to produce new pieces, which are paired in the exhibition with existing ones.

A production by Le Nouveau Printemps, a co-production of the Villa Medici and the Académie de France in Rome. With the support of the City of Toulouse and the Association des Amis du Nouveau Printemps. In collaboration with Maison Salvan, Labège, and Air de Midi, a contemporary art network in Occitanie.