The Bessières station of M2 in Lausanne is transformed into a tribute, even in a small museum dedicated to Mix & Remix (1958-2016). What celebrate the simplicity and efficiency of the trait of Philippe Becquelin.
On the impulse of Drawing Walls FoundationS and with the close collaboration of Lausanne transport, the walls of its two platforms are now animated by a hundred extracts from its press drawings. A series of meetings will follow, including an exhibition in Pyxis from September 11 to 13.
“Over time, his work disappeared and he brought us to put it forward. Why the Bessières station? Because it is at the heart of what he did in Lausanne, near the cathedral and the editorial staff of the weekly,” said Philippe Duvanel, vice-president of the foundation at the 12:30 p.m.
Strongly enlarged and applied with a system of stencils, these extracts evoke characters, animals and number of representations characteristic of the mix of Mix & Remix press drawing.
His drawing, freer and less known – which he mainly worked in the 1990s in the street, for magazines, associations or the legendary club La Dolce Vita – is also at the party. He is praised on the two facades of the opening of the station tunnel, by two monumental reproductions almost six meters high.
Three days of celebration
The tribute is called to expand. By the end of the year, these achievements will be completed by a short “museum” remarks. Consisting of a selection of reproductions of iconic works by Mix & Remix, photos and an extended biography, the description located in the heart of the Bessières station will more broadly present the work and the artist’s journey.
The official inauguration of the project is scheduled for three days, from September 11 to 13. Entitled “La Fête à Mix”, it will take the form of a series of popular events in the surroundings of the station: on the terrace of the Grandes Roches, in the town and in the bedroom of the cathedral, a place that Mix & Remix occupied every night for ten years. Pyxis, the old Mudac building, will be the heart of the party, welcoming a large ephemeral exhibition.
The designer’s son, Paul Becquelin is touched to see his father’s work passed to posterity. He says he is very impressed by the quality of the rendering.
“The most important thing was to do it in a popular context, because there was really this desire for accessibility to the general public with him. He drew a lot of men from the caves and there, we return to this idea of rock art that comes out of the artistic context,” he commented at the microphone of RTS.
20,000 press drawings
Mythical press designer and French-speaking artist, Philippe Becquelin, known as Mix & Remix, was born on April 6, 1958 in Saint-Maurice (VS). He died on December 19, 2016 at the age of 58, the follow -up of pancreatic cancer.
During his career, he produced nearly 20,000 simple, scathing and often timeless press drawings. He notably made himself famous for the general public by his creation for Dolce Vita and his press drawings for various French -speaking media.
>> Review an intimate portrait of Philippe Becquelin (2016 archive):
JFE with ATS