Ludion

Ludion is a work that explores the gap between its two definitions. The first refers to the Etruscan dancers and jugglers who came to Rome in the 4th century. The second refers to a device, first documented in the 17th century, used in physics to demonstrate the compressibility of air. This device is also known as Descartes’ Devil, as Descartes used imp-like figures to illustrate the principle that, as a response to the pressure exerted, causes these strange beings to rise or fall inside the flask. I realized that two of the Tarot’s major arcana corresponded to these two terminologies: the bateleur (card I) and the diable (card XV). I was then inspired by a recent engraved version of the deck, created in 2020 by Thomas Perino and his interpretations written by Aurélien Lemant (Le Tarot Perino, © Le feu sacré, Paris, 2022), who considers the figure of the bateleur as that of a child who discovers the world, and the devil card as the one who sees it from the other side.
Two santours, with 9 and 12 bridges, are used to create the metaphorical space of the two cards. The writing on the strings is in perpetual interaction with the theatrical proposals of the santour, embellished with a few accessories thrown in alongside the strings of the Persian instrument, such as playing dice or cards. The piece’s formal journey takes us from play to introspection, from fragmented relationships to sonic concentration, from the exposure of a material to its reverse. To materialize the physical principle of the ludion, certain parts are written with interdependent pairs of bow pressure and note pitch. Through these various formal and symbolic focuses, Ludion attempts to construct a sonic imaginary that continuously explores the tensions linked to lexical polysemy.