Palaios Lithos is a research, archaeology and anthropology project. It has its roots in the desire to archive and preserve the engravings,
«scratches» present in the Parisian public transport system.
With the arrival of the Olympic Games, the changes in the equipment of the trains made disappear a
whole part of this popular culture of the bored, of those who cross the city from one side
anothers. The line C of the RER is symbolic for its stations like Musée d’Orsay or Saint Michel. It crosses historical districts, the opulent 16th arrondissement as well as the working class suburbs
and dormitory towns. This trajectory makes it a particularly interesting line for the observation of engravings. Like genuine confessionals, the
oars are the receptacle of love declarations, postal codes, invectives, first names, symbols of all kinds. We can date the massive appearance of these engravings to about 1996, with the popularization of the
tag in the railway network.
Palaios Lithos 2018-2021
Serie of 200 monoprints
black ink on Rivoli paper
22 cm x 30 cm
private collection