“Surviving is not enough”

“Survivre ne suffit pas” (“Surviving is not enough”) Curator: Sylvie Zavatta, director of FRAC Franche-Comté

In a world where a pandemic has destroyed 99% of humanity, a theatre company, named La Symphonie Itinérante, roamed the state of Michigan.

Proclaiming to all: “Survival is not enough”, they encounter survivors of this humanitarian disaster and satisfy the need for art, that which separates humanity from other living species and which might be its very essence… This briefly resumes the plot of Emily St John Mandel’s science fiction novel, Station Eleven, from which the show gets its title.

The exhibition displays recent acquisitions made by the Frac Franche-Comté.

In these uncertain times, the works exhibited here prompt discussions around social and political issues (work, money, power, communication, marketing, control of the individual…), as well as questioning notions of memory, anticipation, transformation, and fragility. The exhibit ends, similarly to the novel, on a hopeful note, with two works that emphasise exchange and sharing.