New Heads – Fondation BNP Paribas Art Awards

The BNP Paribas Swiss Foundation, in association with the Geneva School of Art and Design (HEAD), launched the New Heads – BNP Paribas Art Foundation Awards in 2012 to recognize two promising young graduates every year. The Foundation adds one work from each winner to its collection and showcases their talent at the artgenève art fair. The winners are also invited to exhibit their work individually at a Swiss museum, providing excellent visibility to the up-andcoming artists. MBAL, attuned to the research being carried out at art schools in French-speaking Switzerland, has teamed up with the New Heads – BNP Paribas Art Foundation Awards this year to display the work of French laureate Thomas Liu Le Lann (b. 1994). Liu Le Lann’s piece, developed during his time at HEAD, is titled ShowDown and creates a fictional world featuring large plush dolls inspired by Japanese mangas and reminiscent of South Korea’s K-pop culture. Liu Le Lann’s “soft sculptures” lie indolently on the ground and blur the lines between fetishism, violence and robotics while at the same time evoking more bowdlerized elements of pop culture.

This exhibition was produced with the support of HEAD and the BNP Paribas Swiss Foundation.