The Salamander Complex

A glass frame, some wax wings, a tale sculpted in dust on the glass, a mask of bees wings. The artist, Patrick Neu lives alone in a remote island village to the north of the Vosges, far from all of the central focal points of the world of art. He creates slowly and carefully with the patience inherited from the primitive Flemish artists, which whom he dialogues explicitly in works that border the ephemeral and tend towards a rare perfection. One day, the director of the Tokyo Palace in Paris pays him a visit: after following his work for fifteen years, he wants to commission him with his first individual exhibition. He accepts but will not change his method in any way. In the background, the old truth of the salamander, above all, an artist should be able to hide and keep his mystery.