Yihan Wang — Inter- — Mspace — Exhibition — Slash Paris

Past: January 16 → 22, 2026

On the occasion of the exhibition Inter- at Mspace, Paris, Yihan Wang presents the artwork Élégie de la farine (Elegy of Flour). Through this installation, the artist invites the viewer to slow down and to adopt a critical perspective on the current state of civilization, rather than surrendering to it. The artwork proposes an acknowledgment that, within this vast social dough, yeast (assimilated with sin in the biblical tradition) remains an inevitable presence. Faced with the collective, the individual, although endowed with free will, remains permeated by a feeling of regret and powerlessness, much like Auguste Rodin’s Thinker, confronted with the impossibility of transforming reality.

Since the moment of civilization’s collapse remains uncertain, our elegy may as well take the form of contemplation. Élégie de la farine thus originates in a complex emotion of concern toward human civilization, situated within a historical context dominated by anthropocentrism. When we do not take the time to stop and reflect, the world appears to advance endlessly: industry and technology continually renew themselves. Yet no one truly knows toward which destination these “advances” are leading us.

Flour-based foods, the product of a long co-development with human civilization, constitute an essential component of human sustenance. Used as a sculptural material, flour passes through processes of fermentation and baking: it grows, expands, collapses, eventually hardening or deteriorating, evolving toward an unknown outcome.

Élégie de la farine is structured around four sculptures, guiding the viewer through a sequence of four stages that invite a reconsideration of the current state of civilization: Incredulity, Deformation, Torment, Elegy

The Statue of Liberty (Incredulity)

Erected more than a century ago, the Statue of Liberty embodied freedom and America while sending a welcoming signal to migrants from elsewhere. In the contemporary context, has the rejection of immigrants promoted by Donald Trump not already destroyed the image that the Statue of Liberty was meant to represent?

The Venus de Milo (Deformation)

A major symbol of ancient Greek aesthetics, the Venus de Milo has long embodied a so-called eternal beauty, precisely through her mutilation. Yet, subjected to the uncontrolled fermentation of flour, her body transforms during the baking process, gradually losing the original beauty that defined her.

The Thinker (Torment)

The Thinker embodies Dante Alighieri’s reflection on the many sins of hell as well as on contemporary human tragedies. While expressing compassion and care toward humanity, he carries within himself deep affliction and violent intellectual contradictions. The Thinker is not a judge: he stands within The Gates of Hell himself, as a witness. He understands everything, yet remains incapable of transforming everything.

The Pietà（Elegy）

In the history of Christian art, the Pietà authorizes “failure,” pain, and powerlessness as central themes. It is not about commemorating the death of God, but about recognizing human fragility as bearing sacredness. The serene faces of Mary and Christ seem to accept fate with calmness. Associated with the process of making fermented dough, the work becomes both an elegy of civilization and an act of cultural reflection and introspection.

Élégie de la farine thus leaves open unresolved questions: no one knows whether one day dried flour will fall from the sky like dust, covering the traces of civilization, nor in which direction it should now turn.