Encore presents CORE 002 SLEEPING BEAUTY, a project by artist Cécile Di Giovanni, musician Tumy and writer Cédric Fauq. Its first episode was presented in Brussels at Big Appple and opened on the 24th November 2024.
Sleeping Beauty begins from a moment suspended between visual memory, wishful thinking and cultural icons’ decay over time. While visiting EuroDisney, artist Cécile Di Giovanni believed she could glimpse the silhouette of Michael Jackson behind the curtains of the Sleeping Beauty Suite, where he regularly stayed during his visits to Paris. This half-invented memory intertwines with a broader reflection on how Jackson’s figure has evolved over time—particularly as shaped by the FBI investigations into Neverland and the overlap between Jackson, Disney, and Peter Pan. These references, born in the ‘90s, form part of an extended, mythic territory of images that remain in orbit around the “magical” factory created by the era.
CORE 002 SLEEPING BEAUTY, avril 95, Cécile Di Giovanni, 2024
Text by Cédric Fauq
The name Sleeping Beauty speaks to the project’s deeper theme of transformation—just as the fairy tale character awakens from a dream-like state. Through an immersive installation, viewers are invited into a fragmented world where familiar objects become simulacra, blurring the lines between authenticity and fiction. The project challenges us to consider how these shifting memories, tied to figures like Jackson, take on new meanings as they interact with the cloud of images that hover around cultural icons.
Drawing on the idea of dreams (sleep) and memory distortion, The 3 sculptures constituting the exhibitions are the artefacts of that situation, where altered perceptions affect our relationship with nostalgia, architecture, and personal history.
CORE 002 SLEEPING BEAUTY, avril 95, Cécile Di Giovanni, 2024
CORE 002 SLEEPING BEAUTY, avril 95, Cécile Di Giovanni, 2024
Main character syndrome
Text by Cédric Fauq
Outdoor view of Big Appple exhibition space, Brussels
Interpretive Panel reading text by Cédric Fauq
Text by Cédric Fauq
CORE 002 SLEEPING BEAUTY, Light Switch, Cécile Di Giovanni, 2024
Protect Children At All Crimes
Text by Cédric Fauq
CORE 002 SLEEPING BEAUTY™ avril 95 Poster, Cécile Di Giovanni, 2024
