Catalogue Detached Involvement

Itinerant Object I (Plaster Cube) by Michel François is an object that travelled along to exhibitions and studios for many years. Michel François made this plaster cube in 1990. According to him he can’t even remember why he made it. Perhaps it was because he had a mould in his studio for it or because he needed a pedestal. Until 2009 he let this object travel along to all his exhibitions. As time went by, scratches and dents appeared on the cube, and its corners were damaged. It was never wrapped in packaging for transport: it is a souvenir to François’ cv.

The plaster cube is a heavy object that you can hardly lift or move on your own; you always need help. No matter what, if you move it – it will leaves traces and marks on the floor. Michel François nearly even lost Itinerant Object I once: a chauffeur of a transport company did not find the object worthwhile so he did not make the effort to unload it. For quite a while after this, Michel Francois believed that he had lost the object forever. With a great deal of effort he managed to get the object back. Eventually, visual artist Ronald Ophuis noticed this work of art and he swapped one of his paintings for Itinerant Object I (Plaster Cube).