In the French capital’s Rue Rivoli, on the gates of the square encircling the Tour Saint-Jacques, a photographic exhibition has been on show since Tuesday that will delight both lovers of Mauritius and of “truck art”! Born in the 1940s around Pakistan, India and Nepal, this artistic tradition of decorating trucks and buses is now an integral part of Mauritian popular culture.
Delphine Raimond
Sonia Reveyaz, a young photographer living and working in Paris, takes us on a journey to the heart of the Indian Ocean, to our small, multi-ethnic territory on the border between Africa and Asia. Her work questions the preservation of cultural asperities and creolism, in the face of the challenges of modernization and the development of transport. They invite us to escape, for a few minutes, almost making us forget the noisy, polluting, briskly-moving… of the many jalopies still widely used by Mauritians.
The Maurice Express exhibition immerses visitors in the island’s bright colors; the quirky names of its old metal carcasses; the kitsch, amusing, evocative designs that adorn their bodies, customizing their trunks, hoods or license plates. Pink, red, purple, orange… line the interiors and bench seats in sky, while flowers, waves, stars and other frescoes… are drawn on the exterior sides. Among the artist’s photos is one of a bus proudly displaying a tropical painting on its posterior, where coconut palms and flamboyant trees, peaceful beaches, sailboats and fishing boats… evoke a scene inspired by the love of the country, its culture, its nature, its heritage, its identity.
In collaboration with the City of Paris, and with a view to archiving, all the works will be on view until Wednesday January 3, 2024.
https://www.paris.fr/evenements/maurice-express-une-exposition-de-sonia-reveyaz-49308
