PLI

Les SUBS - lieu vivant d'expériences artistiques, Lyon

Paper is an ancient material, constantly present in our everyday life: it carries information, stories, laws, our innermost thoughts, and universal truths. "PLI" (English: ply or fold) brings this multi-layered material to life in a fascinating circus piece. Sculptor Domitille Martin and paper artist Alexis Mérat create fantastical landscapes that are torn, crumpled, and knotted into new shapes. In the process, paper becomes a silky second skin, a solid wall, even a sturdy rope for breathtaking aerial artistry. At the center of this rustling paper universe operates the Israeli circus artist Inbal Ben Haim. She enters into a dialogue with the material, questioning the weakness of seemingly delicate paper and testing its strength when she hangs from a papery thread at the height of over six meters.

In poetic images of captivating beauty, the three artists tell of our ever-changing world in all its vulnerability. Inbal Ben Haim, born in Jerusalem in 1990, studied circus arts in France. In her pieces, she is particularly interested in intersections with the visual arts. This is also how she came to collaborate with Alexis Mérat, who devotes himself artistically and scientifically to various paper folding and crumpling techniques, and Domitille Martin, who works as a sculptor and set designer.

The company is very concerned about the ecological sustainability of the production. Most of the material used is reused for performances of the piece, and a small portion is recycled or passed on.