Lek & Sowat
Website: www.mausolee.net
Exhibitions
Works
Ohne Titel
Lek u Sowat Erzhalle
Copyright: Weltkulturerbe Völklinger Hütte / Karl Heinrich Veith
Date
2022, in situ
Dimensions
2,1 x 4 m
Material
Acrylfarbe, Glas
May the Bridges I burn light the Way
Lek Sowat Unterfuehrung einfahrt
Copyright: Weltkulturerbe Völklinger Hütte / Oliver Dietze
Date
2022, in situ
Material
Folie, Plexiglas
Description
The French duo Lek & Sowat have been working together since they met at a group exhibition in Paris in 2009. The path from subcultural graffiti “bombing” to conceptual intervention in public space (and back) is shorter than one might think: massive lettering along urban and peripheral traffic infrastructures, strikingly executed, originally designed. Only the content has undergone a shift: the focus is no longer on the artist’s own name, but on poetic or self-reflexive reference. The lettering “LEK & SOWAT, MAY THE BRIDGES I BURN LIGHT THE WAY, 2022, VÖLKLINGEN” is emblazoned with foil and acrylic on the glass partition wall along the underpass between the Völklingen Ironworks and the train station. The letters, in red and white on gray, are reminiscent of phantom images in their design, which corresponds to the social symbolism of graffiti and also makes one think of urban hacking. By placing work and work information in one medium, Lek & Sowat intend to “physically connect the museum to the city” and at the same time “talk about the difficult decisions we had to make as artists.”
Robert Kaltenhäuser
May the Bridges I Burn Light the Way
Lek Sowat Unterfuehrung einfahrt
Copyright: Weltkulturerbe Völklinger Hütte / Oliver Dietze
Date
2022, in situ
Dimensions
2,5 x 130 m
Material
Plastic sheet, plexiglas
Description
The French duo Lek & Sowat have been working together since they met at a group exhibition in Paris in 2009. The path from subcultural graffiti “bombing” to conceptual intervention in public space (and back) is shorter than one might think: massive lettering along urban and peripheral traffic infrastructures, strikingly executed, originally designed. Only the content has undergone a shift: the focus is no longer on the artist’s own name, but on poetic or self-reflexive reference. The lettering “LEK & SOWAT, MAY THE BRIDGES I BURN LIGHT THE WAY, 2022, VÖLKLINGEN” is emblazoned with foil and acrylic on the glass partition wall along the underpass between the Völklingen Ironworks and the train station. The letters, in red and white on gray, are reminiscent of phantom images in their design, which corresponds to the social symbolism of graffiti and also makes one think of urban hacking. By placing work and work information in one medium, Lek & Sowat intend to “physically connect the museum to the city” and at the same time “talk about the difficult decisions we had to make as artists.”
Quetzalcoatl
Lek Sowat Quetzacoatl
Copyright: Lek & Sowat
Date
2022, in situ
Dimensions
5,1 x 13 m
Material
Acrylic, glass
Description
The French duo Lek & Sowat has left impressive artistic traces not only in Völklingen’s urban space, but also on the grounds of the World Cultural Heritage Site. For example, the two have mounted their work Quetzalcoatl, named after the feathered Aztec creator deity in snake form, on the glass front of the Ironworks. If you look closely, you can recognize the names of the protagonists of the Urban Art Biennale 2022 in exotic handwriting between the serpentine lines. Also to be discovered on the grounds of the Völklingen Ironworks: Lek & Sowat’s collaborative works with their artist colleagues Katre, Obsolettrismes and Sethone on the roof of the Ironworks and on the wheelhouse near the Ferrodrome.
Ohne Titel
Lek u Sowat Erzhalle
Copyright: Weltkulturerbe Völklinger Hütte / Karl Heinrich Veith
Date
2022, in situ
Dimensions
2,1 x 4 m
Material
Acrylic, glass
Ohne Titel
Lek Sowat Steuerhaus
Copyright: Weltkulturerbe Völklinger Hütte / Jeanette Dittmar
Date
2022, in situ
Dimensions
1,2 x 3,5 m
Material
Acrylic, glass