PLAKT:
Valérian Goalec
Valérian Goalec explores the world through small interventions that question the choices we make in shaping and organizing our surroundings. Since 2022, he has been developing ‘scores’ or ‘descriptive prompts’ based on spatial and temporal phenomena, through which he investigates subtle relationships between bodies, objects, and environments. With this series of actions, he plays with shifts, rhythms, and intervals, paying close attention to what disappears, transforms, or endures. His approach, rooted in a meticulous focus on detail and use, invites a renewed reading of both the visible and the invisible.
Valérian Goalec’s Act 24 begins with the prompt: “A common wish is fulfilled.” It refers to a series of site-specific interventions that respond to an unspoken need of the institution inviting him. The first version of Act 24 resulted in the installation of a balustrade on the mezzanine of the Amsterdam exhibition space Mutter, following a wish expressed by the community to secure the space and make it accessible to everyone. The second version addressed practical issues at Centre Cívic Can Felipa in Barcelona including the repair of several electrical outlets, the addition of missing outlet covers, and the installation of holders for exhibition texts, which had never been put in place due to administrative hurdles. This approach reflects Goalec’s interest in transforming everyday objects and spaces through minimal gestures, giving functional elements an added layer of meaning.
The third iteration, Act 24.3, takes place within the framework of PLAKT — a project in which twelve artists were invited to create an image for public space. Instead of an image, Goalec proposed to create a support structure for the other eleven works. He made a roughly welded steel frame, inspired by the advertising structures he sees daily in the Paris metro. This frame serves not only as a physical support, but also as a subtle commentary on how art and advertising both share and shape public space.
ecause Act 24.3 is more difficult to position in the public realm than the paper prints created by the other artists, the work unexpectedly marks the beginning of a second chapter for PLAKT. We’re now collaborating with several cultural institutions that will host Goalec’s piece.
In preparation for these presentations, the roughly welded steel frame is given a new finish: to withstand long-term exposure to changing weather conditions, it receives a deep black powder coating. At each location, Act 24.3 is first presented as a wall sculpture — a bare, black frame, a mirror or a window — before serving as a display for the other eleven works.
We’re choosing to partner specifically with cultural institutions that are not based in major cities but rather in more peripheral areas. This approach allows us to expand PLAKT to places where our regular poster crews don’t operate, while also exploring new ways for art, space, and audiences to connect.
PLAKT invites artists to create works printed as bluebacks, which are pasted across the city. This is done by professionals who typically distribute event advertisements, giving them control over when and where the artworks appear. Embracing spontaneity and unpredictability, the posters pop up in unexpected spots, disappearing just as quickly—reflecting the uncontrollable, fleeting nature of city life. PLAKT is about creating unexpected encounters—brief moments of joy, curiosity, or reflection. Whether it’s a quick pause during a busy day or a smile on a familiar street corner, these artworks aim to connect art with the everyday, reminding us to live in the moment and embrace the unexpected nature of life.
We are spreading over 300 copies of each artwork across the public spaces of Brussels and Flanders. Exactly when and where? We don’t know—that’s part of the beauty.
A second chapter of PLAKT begins in September and brings a larger version of Valérian Goalec’s Act 24.3 to IKOB, Eupen; CC Strombeek; De Warande, Turnhout; Kunsthal Mechelen; NW Aalst; De Brakke Grond, Amsterdam; Museum Dhondt Dhaenens, Deurle; and Abby, Kortrijk. A first presentation of Act 24.3 is currently on (pre)view in C-mine, Genk.
Valérian Goalec €365
Act 24.3
Hand-made steel frame – signed and numbered by the artist.