The Great Observation Box

Gilles Pourtier was welcomed for a year at 3 bis, a contemporary art center located in the heart of the Montperrin psychiatric hospital in Aix-en-Provence. The large repair area is interested in this place of care and its serial architecture, examining the typological variations of the pavilions where the patients are accommodated.
The photographs emphasize the repetitive nature and mass production of these buildings, bringing this industrial aesthetic closer to the issues of minimal art. Gilles Pourtier also develops a series of drawings titled Wunderblocks who questions the relationship between buildings and individuals. Multidisciplinarity, defended in this work crossing drawings, photographs, architecture, allows to bring a new look on the subject of psychiatry by focusing on the close relationship between pathologies and environments. The texts of Jean-Christophe Arcos (curator) and Philippe Prost (architect) support and enlighten this approach throughout the book. Gilles Pourtier took part in a one-year artist’s residency at 3 bis, a contemporary art center located in Montperrin psychiatric hospital in Aix-en-Provence. The Great Observation Box focuses on this mental health institute and its serial architecture, examining the typological variations of the pavilions where patients are admitted.
The photographs underline the repetitive nature and the mass production of these buildings, establishing a parallel between this industrial aesthetic and the issues of minimal art. Gilles Pourtier also developed a series of drawings entitled Wunderblocksthat matters the relationship between built environments and individuals. The multidisciplinary approach in this publication mixes drawings, photographs and architecture. It is a new perspective on the subject of psychiatry by observing the relationship between pathologies and environments. Throughout the book, the texts by Jean-Christophe Arcos (exhibition curator) and Philippe Prost (architect) complete and shed light on this process.