Laure Prouvost. Above Front Tears Oui Float

Narrator:
French artist Laure Prouvost is inspired by the Surrealists, who changed the course of art history about a hundred years ago by playing with dreams and reality.

Just like Laure Prouvost, Mattis, aged five, and his grandmother Celine like talking about dreams, about things that hover and float – and about clouds.

Mattis:
Clouds are so slippery that you can just fall straight through them.

Celine:
That’s true.

Mattis:
What if there were so many that they came all the way down to the ground?

Celine:
Well, then they would be a bit like fog.
But what if you could go up on top of a cloud, what would that be like, do you think?

Mattis:
If you couldn’t see anything, then you might fall out of it.

Celine:
Fall out of a cloud?

Mattis:
Mmm.

Celine:
Perhaps a child could ride on an eagle.

Mattis:
(Laughs)

Celine:
(Laughs) That would be a bit strange.

Mattis:
Yes, eagles are a bit big.

Celine:
Mmm.

Mattis:
But they don’t fly very high up, just a bit high. And a bit out over the ocean.

Celine:
If you could fly, do you think your body would feel heavy or light?

Mattis:
Umm, you wouldn’t feel anything.

Celine:
But Mattis, there’s one thing I’m wondering – can you swim?

Mattis:
Only a teeny bit.

Celine:
Can you swim if you wear armbands?

Mattis:
No, then I just float.

Celine:
So you float?

Mattis:
Mmm.

Celine:
Do you enjoy floating?

Mattis:
Yes.

Celine:
How does it feel when you lie in the water like that?

Mattis:
It doesn’t feel like anything, because the water is so soft. (Laughs)

Celine:
Do you sometimes have dreams at night?

Mattis:
Yes! I always dream about the same thing.

Celine:
Oooh, do tell.

Mattis:
Nah. It’s a secret. I’ll never tell it to anyone.

Celine:
But can I ask you just one thing?

Mattis:
Yes.

Celine:
This secret dream, is it good or scary?

Mattis:
It’s a good dream!

Celine:
Oh good. I’m happy to hear that.

Narrator:
You heard Mattis, aged five, in conversation with his grandmother, Celine.
Here at the National Museum, artist Laure Prouvost is combining sculpture, video, installation, text and sound to create a world that tells us something about our own world and our presence in it. Because although we live at a time when global warming, crises and conflicts are affecting our everyday lives, we still have love and dreams. Remember that, as you drift towards your own future.