The introduction of the ruler, and more generally of mathematics and geometry at the beginning of primary school is consistent with a general rigidification of the learning process in terms of experience. It is no longer a time for play and drawing; for intuitive and multi-sensory exploration of an unlimited space but more to a a metric spatial relationship.
‘Un Trait d’Humour’ considers school rulers as agents of a certain pedagogical philosophy, carrying, at best the exercise of a form of control, at worst the threat of punishment. The installation strives to defuse this embodied anxiety by making fun of it: over time, caramel rulers will bend under their own weight, then start dripping before they finally collapse, making Un trait d’Humour an act of reappropriation.
