"Becoming" - 25 Studies from Ghislain Pfersdorff

BECOMING is an immersive installation comprising 25 artworks arranged in a circle, each corresponding to one stanza of Arthur Rimbaud’s “Le Bateau Ivre.” Created over nine years (2016-2025), each work measures 46 x 61 cm and employs a two-stage process: Chinese ink calligraphy transcribing Rimbaud’s verses, followed by watercolor motifs that interpret the poem’s imagery. 

Visitors remove their shoes and follow a traced path, physically experiencing the poem’s journey of departure, transformation, and return. 

The installation features ambient audio of French actors Gérard Philippe, Jean Marais, Jean-Louis Trintignant, and Fanny Ardant reciting the poem and alternating French and English, accompanied by Arvo Pärt’s “Spiegel im Spiegel.” 

Limited to a few visitors at a time, the work explores themes of artistic rebellion, political resistance, and psychological transformation while addressing contemporary concerns about polarization and dialogue. The calligraphy-watercolor technique embodies creative doubt—ink providing structure while watercolor introduces fluidity and interpretation, reflecting Rimbaud’s “derangement of all the senses” and creating space for multiple readings rather than fixed meanings.

Submitted as a performance to the 2025 Phillips Collection Art call.