Villeurbanne (Rhône). Tutelary spirits of waters and forests, evolving in a cosmic landscape littered with planktons, bacteria and asteroids: the Institute of Contemporary Art (IAC) takes its visitors on a hallucinatory virtual odyssey that they are not likely to soon forget. The largest solo exhibition by Josèfa Ntjam (born in 1992) to date, “Intrications” brings together an impressive corpus of works produced between 2020 and 2025. Photomontages, video works of art, 3D printing, sound creation and even video games are deployed throughout the spaces of the art center/Frac Rhône-Alpes (1,200 m2). The booklet, written under the supervision of curator Sarah Caillet, is full of information on the artist’s cultural, historical and scientific references – among them, the cosmogonies of West Africa and the Cameroonian and Guinean anti-colonial struggles. He also emphasizes the great diversity of techniques that she experimented with during her residencies at LVMH Métiers d’Art, at the Jade factory (Sèvres) and at the Snolab astrophysics laboratory, in Canada. In the vast north and south halls of the IAC, the delicate half-animal, half-vegetable creatures obtained by 3D printing in ceramic, brass and resin stand next to a bestiary of the depths combining 3D printing in metal, CNC (numerical control) machining and anodizing (surface treatment of aluminum).
A reigning darkness
Downside of its sensory and immersive dimension, the course suffers from numerous accessibility problems. All the texts of the exhibition are in the booklet, the information is simply illegible in the many rooms completely plunged into darkness, unless you use the flashlight on your phone. More annoying, the absence of route signage prevents easy spatial movement in the dark and the identification of possible obstacles when moving: the rooms do not have any light markings on the floor, door coding or backlit pictograms to indicate the direction of the route. This thought is particularly harmful to people with sensory and physical disabilities. The most basic services, such as toilets, are not indicated by any arrow pictogram – it is impossible to find them without asking a reception agent for directions. Such pitfalls seem difficult to justify today, when a complete guide on the accessibility of exhibitions and visiting routes was developed by the Ministry of Culture almost ten years ago.
“Intrications” therefore questions, despite itself, the limits of immersion in exhibitions. And, since visitors do not benefit from visual cues capable of guaranteeing a fluid and instinctive visiting experience, scenographic style effects, such as the chromatic evolution of the walls to imply a change of atmosphere, seem very superfluous. It is all the more a shame since the IAC could have relied on the know-how of Josèfa Ntjam to create fanciful signage which would have worked very well with its hybrid and abundant universe.
