2024
Paris, France
ALLOTOPIE 6, Espace En Cours

The Dictionary of Everyday Life (French: Dictionnaire de tous les jours) is a book-secret of an artist, a man without a permanent place and social benefits in foreign country. Finding himself in France without knowing the language and without basic household amenities, Igor begins life anew, he sets new goals, to which he desperately tries to find the keys.

At the heart of this project is a German-French dictionary, a symbolic object found by the artist, Igor, in a Parisian second-hand store. Transformed into an artist’s book, it serves as a keyholder for a performative sculpture spread across the city.

The book contains six keys, each corresponding to a custom-made lock installed at a specific location relevant to a migrant’s experience. Engraved on each lock is a fundamental task required for building a new life in France:

• Apprendre le français (Learn French) – near a school.
• Ouvrir un compte en banque (Open a bank account) – near a bank.
• Obtenir un passeport talent (Obtain a talent passport visa) – in front of an art space.
• Louer un appart sur le long terme (Rent a long-term apartment) – near a residential building.

The act of naturalization becomes a literal process of unlocking. The project evolves in real-time: as the artist fulfills each administrative and personal milestone, he returns to the site to unlock the associated goal. This work maps the journey of integration not on paper, but onto the urban fabric itself, turning bureaucratic steps into a tangible and poetic ritual. Some locks remain closed, others are already open, documenting a journey in progress.

Dimensions variable.
6 steel locks, Dictionary book, keys.

In 2024 was presented at the Allotopie 6 group show, (curated by Mathieu Tremblin, Antonio Gallego). En cours art space, Paris, France.