Les valeurs universelles explores the tension between the universal ideals of the Enlightenment (Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité) and the unavoidable materiality of the human body. Three 3D printed plinths present silicone nipples, each adorned with a different piercing configuration.
The work plays with three levels of reality:
1. The plinth as fabricated object — a functional, neutral carrier, the object as 'bearer of meaning'.
2. The nipple as simulation — an imitation of flesh in silicone, evoking the body without being the body.
3. The piercing as real — a usable, authentic item that operates within our material and cultural reality.
By combining these layers, the work reveals the tension between abstraction and materiality, between ideal and reality, and between universal values and the concrete diversity of bodies. It invites reflection on how we assign meaning to symbols and objects, and how these meanings relate to our understanding of reality and identity.