What does it mean to be a tourist today? The Grand Tour was originally and for centuries a formative journey undertaken by the European elites youth, inventing the idea of the Orient and shaping the aesthetics of travel. Subsequently, this idea became more democratic, giving rise to mass tourism. Despite wars, terrorism, pandemics, and the need for eco-responsibility, tourism remains at the heart of leisure civilization and is a major economic player. Contemporary artists render these tensions visible, with critical force and often with an ironic distance. Conceived by Marie Deparis-Yafil, this exhibition embraces the formal rules of Babel Mallorca. Instead of showcasing the works in their physical form, we prioritize videos, works that can be easily transported in a suitcase, or blueback photographic prints of the selected works. This decision for economic moderation reduces the carbon footprint of our exhibitions and the insurance costs, but most importantly, it ensures greater curatorial independence. Thus, Babel Mallorca is not merely a new type of exhibition space envisioned by Arnaud Cohen; it is a Gesamtkunstwerk that aims to be the embassy of a universe yet to be built, inspired by the "Tout-Monde" concept cherished by Édouard Glissant. Through this curatorial platform, Marie Deparis confronts, without censorship and on the same beach, two irreconcilable figures of travel: the nomad from the North versus the migrant from the South, for whom borders have never disappeared.
Image: Paolo Iommeli, The tourist #3
