Françoise SCHEIN – Ideoglyphe Européen

For Ideoglyphe Européen, Francoise Schein draws inspiration from a map of Europe whose boundaries she makes out of contemporary materials, such as concrete and steel. Each country’s outline is cut out into individual metal blades which interweave and overlap with each other in a labyrinthine pattern. Through the superimposition of lines, an abstract composition is formed where the territories we know are no longer discernible; what remains fixed are the European capital cities positioned on the map of the continent, identified by the luminous electric bulbs dotted across the metal panel. The ensemble is crowned by a row of small clocks which indicate the various time zones.

This artwork is currently on display at the European Parliament as part of the exhibition Art in Democracy (23 October 2023 - 30 June 2024). The exhibition displays the critical and personal visions of the featured artists who, through their artistic production, have taken a clear position in favour of defending democracy. They contribute to reinforcing awareness of the need to stand up for democratic freedoms, pointing towards the duty to remain alert and participatory in processes as decisive as the European elections. In this connection, they remind us that European citizens have a crucial role to play in defending democracy by voting in the upcoming European elections in June 2024.

Entering the Contemporary Art Collection of the European Parliament

The sculpture was acquired by the European Parliament in 1997 from Suzanne Delevoy, ex-director of the Education Department at the Cinquantenaire Museums, Belgium. 

At its inauguration, Schein defined the panel-relief as an “abstract work that deals in fact with the theme of European construction. Describing the borders of a continent in motion and in full swing, this work was conceived two years before the fall of the Berlin Wall [1989].” 

Premonitory of the establishment of the European Union on November 1st 1993, when the Maastricht Treaty came into force, Ideoglyphe Européen symbolizes the erasure of boundaries and the coming together of European countries and cultures: “…I made this sculpture after having lived in New York for ten years, a long period of absence and estrangement that undoubtedly allowed me to understand, thanks to that regard from the outside, the cohesion that exists among all the countries of Europe, cohesion created by a single people: the Europeans”. 

Formal references can be found in relation to the urban development plans of large modern cities or maps of infrastructure and communication routes, the lines of which seem to reproduce the itineraries of imagined trains or metros, a system of networks navigating within the united cultural richness of the continent. What is also interesting to note is that, among her correspondence with Delevoy, Schein includes a visual reference to the French philosopher and essayist Denis Diderot’s article ‘Anatomie’ in the general Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers (published in France between 1751 and 1772, edited by Diderot in collaboration with French mathematician Jean le Rond d'Alembert). 

A formal similarity is noted between Schein's cartographic diagram and the connective tissue of the body depicted in the anatomical drawing of Diderot’s article. The fibrous networks evoke the intersections between art, architecture, ethics and citizenships created in Schein’s artwork.    

International network of democracy

Schein defines the Ideoglyphe as the first amongst a long-lasting series of large-format works, reproducing at various scales the circuits on which European cities were constructed. The panel-relief is, furthermore, the conceptual starting point of a network of participatory installations that Schein presented in metro stations, parks and on city walls around the world. These international art projects are permanently integrated with the urban network and in locations with great public circulation. A common thread among these projects is the significant juxtaposition of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights text with images, philosophical and literary texts, as well as cartographies of the local culture and history. 

Together with the above, a pedagogical toolkit for school children was produced.

Pedagogical Kit

The network of public spaces dedicated to human rights, conceived by Schein, introduces a pedagogical kit to enable teachers and their students to gain awareness of the ever growing importance of Human Rights in the world in the twenty-first century and in their respective communities. Each project is singular and created in accordance with the community’s wishes. Her participatory methodology directly involves local residents in the production of her works. 

Artist of the Human Rights

At the time of the fall of the Berlin wall, Schein founded the Association INSCRIRE, an NGO dedicated to the dissemination of citizenships concepts and Human Rights through innovative participative artworks. Conceived as a positive action, INSCRIRE works with local populations in communities throughout the European Union and the world to create artistic works and events which highlight human rights principles and cultural diversity, and spark discussion and reflection about both.

American novelist and essayist, Siri Hustvedt, winner of the 2019 European Charles Veillon Essay Prize, describes Schein as an artist of “human space”. Schein reminds us of the fragility of democracies if they are not firmly committed to the protection of human rights. By defining herself as a “human rights artist” she believes in the constant reaffirmation of the fundamental base of democratic thoughts. 

More information

• Françoise SCHEIN website
• Pedagogical Kit