Xolo Cuintle
Fig. 1 & 2 : One of the Four Martin Sabon’s Dogs, Cimetière de Montmartre, Paris
Sleep and His Half Brother Death (2022)
« The first remains of dogs found in human graves date back to around 35,000 BC, proving of the symbiotic relationship woven between man and dog. This co-evolutionary relationship is sealed around the psychopomp dimensions of the dog : Xololt, Anubis, Kalabhairava, Sirius, Cerberus, Hermanubis, Koma-Inu. In many mythologies around the world, the dog operates the threshold between the two worlds, it is the animal of passage, the interstice between the opposite polarities. »
Xolo Cuintle is a duo formed by Romy Texier and Valentin Vie Binet, who live and and work in Paris. Together, they produce works that challenge the boundaries between sculpture, furniture and decoration. Assembling concrete, metal and wood, they create deserted and petrified settings, between dream and simulacrum, in which one couldn’t distinguish the past history or the incoming one. The creations of Xolo Cuintle, meticulously assembled and arranged according to each space, play with objects that constitute the topographies of our daily life, by plunging them in a permanent state of latency.
For La Parade‘s Carte Blanche, the duo wandered around the Parisian cemeteries searching for dogs looking after their deceased ones in their everlasting homes. As a study, the series gives an understanding of this recurring figure in their work.
Fig. 3 : Recumbent greyhound on unknown family grave, Cimetière de Passy, Paris
Fig 4 : Beware of the Growling Gargoyle, Cimetière de Passy, Paris
Fig. 5 : Paolo & Maria’s Howling Mutt, Cimetière de Montmartre, Paris
Fig. 6 : Guardian of the Countess’s Eternal Palace, Cimetière de Montmartre, Paris
Fig. 7 : Keeper of the 29th District, Cimetière du Père Lachaise, Paris
Fig. 8 : Greyhound Keeping an Eye on the Beauregard Family Since 1880, Cimetière de Passy, Paris
Fig. 9 : Laying on Pitron’s Family Grave, Cimetière de Montmartre, Paris
Fig. 10 : Portrait of Countess Demidoff’s Guardian, Cimetière Montmartre, Paris
Fig. 11 : Martin Sabon Four Carriers, Cimetière de Montmartre, Paris
Fig.12 : Gargoyle on a Family Mausoleum, Cimetière de Passy, Paris
