Chimney pipes form a thirteen-meter-long carriage pulled by four riders. The interior is a disproportionately enlarged chair where visitors are invited to sit. Defying the industrial use of material, the artist magnifies steel tubes, a smoky element, to create a monumental sculpture. He plays on the double meaning of the word, “fumiste” referring to both a heating engineer and an unserious person. Since the 1990s, Richard Fauguet has been observing chimneys and the varied shapes of heating pipes and systems. He finds the figure of Darth Vader in chimney vacuum cleaners. A recurring motif for the artist, here he takes on the appearance of a modern-day knight. The artist’s work borrows materials from everyday life: formica, Vallauris glass, Pyrex, steel tubes. He assembles a variety of elements, both flashy and obsolete, to create a kitschy discrepancy between form and substance, on the edge of art history and popular culture. This three-dimensional construction game echoes the assembly practices of the Nouveaux Réalistes.
