Emmanuel Louisnord Desir’s work is inspired by the eschatological tension between the body and the spirit, man and machine, functional labor and creative impulses. Artists freely draw on biblical references and symbolism, adopting these archetypes to question the questioning of the human condition in contemporary society, making events in California and across the country even more urgent.
In “Let My People Go” recently closed on 47 canals, Desir carefully planned the complex choreography of mechanized machines and personified machines. Industrial residues of Los Angeles cityscape (metal parts rescued with vehicles and machinery) are repurposed for bronze creatures and are dense at a nominal cost. As Desir explained in his playback in the show, he was particularly fascinated by the dichotomy and language of materials, which were transformed through the stages of bronze casting: “I like different processes and different ways in which the material changes – starting wax engraving and lost wax techniques, then turning to the pouring stage, rotating, rotating, and spinning again, and turning into something again.
Desir specifically attracts tension and possibilities of synthetic between the made parts and handmade bronze. Fusion of high and low DIY aesthetics Racherquismo With the sophisticated craftsmanship of historical artisans and the sophisticated craftsmanship of the church objects, his work unfolds with layered meditation on the changing values and hierarchies assigned to human inventions, as well as creativity across roles and contexts.
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Desir often retains elements such as engines, wires, wheels and other functional parts, transforming them into seemingly dormant bodies (also illuminating), as if waiting for the activation of spirit and purpose. “I think it’s like other components you need to insert,” he explained. “There is always a part that needs to be connected, but not yet. Maybe it’s spiritual-faith idea.” At the same time, these machines seem to mimic human behavior, performing silent manifestations or rituals within the space.
The tension between labor and spirituality, social functioning, and personal purpose is at the heart of these works, which is a metaphor for the conflict and oppression conditions that life and embodies. Yet, in this tension, he was also impressed by the possibility of redemption and rebirth. Through the process of copper casting, he formulated a form of redemption. Both alchemy and concepts can reactivate materials so that objects can get rid of their original context and transform. Through Desir, they are transformed into new forms and have newer meanings and purposes.
Desir’s sculptures (such as our bodies) are described as “the sacred fables and historical narratives related to our day” and are vehicles, commands or products of energy. Their core is examination of the body that is often objectified and reused to improve the convenience or practicality of others. “These parts have different parts (catheter, head, gun, wheel) to suggest movement or specific tasks assigned to objects,” Desir explained. “It’s not just physical,” he added. “It’s also mentally – almost like disease. This deprivation of depression or self-deprived self comes from external stress, and we are forced to be seen through channels as members of the normal working society.”
Obviously, Desir’s work takes place at the intersection of spirit and politics. By embracing Marxist discourse, he challenged traditional concepts of labor and social roles and brought them frequent dissonance with deeper appeals from the individual souls. More specifically, Desir’s work can be read through the lens of Marx’s theory of alienation, in which workers stand out not only from their work products, but from their own nature and soul. In Desir’s sculpture, the human body becomes a machine or utility, embodying this alienation, dramatizing how to cut off the individual from the spiritual core through the mechanized role imposed by later capitalism.
Desir grew up in the lower middle class in a highly religious black family, offering a tribute to the state of working-class communities in the United States to 47 canals. “These works illustrate the mind of the goal – what the purpose of an object or body is,” he said. “I want to explore the tension between a designated purpose, the need for a person’s role in society and the need for survival and higher spiritual purposes, something related to existential growth.” He reflects on the labor that workers who build the infrastructure to maintain society and keep it functioning often invisible or unrecognized.
This later stage of the machine considers how in modern society, the physical survival of each person is increasingly defined by function. However, when people are in line with their true souls and beliefs, Desir is also moving towards spiritual elevation. “I like to think about macro and micro scales, cosmic levels,” he said. “These can be seen as a collective, but when you look closely, each person has their own internal events, and their own orchestration gives them a unique identity. It’s like a custom-made uniform. I want to talk to each aspect like a gem to capture all angles in the hope of reaching the essence of these characters.”
The title of the exhibition, “Let my people go”, comes from the Old Testament: “Moses and Aaron come in and tell Pharaoh, therefore, the Lord God of Israel said, Let my people go away, and they may hold a feast in the wilderness,” (Exodus 5:1, KJV). By citing this critical moment, when God commands His people to escape from Egyptian bondage, Desir not only evokes freedom of movement embedded in the divine command, but also a deeper idea of the final appeal or purpose assigned to each of us as the soul enters the body.
His work was promptly commented on the situation of the entire community where social and political forces are oppressed or actively threatened. Desir’s work has new significance and urgency as Los Angeles protests against mass deportations that form an important part of the city’s workforce and daily life. They embody resilience, they point to an ascending form of vibrant and spiritual form of resistance that advocates a different role and narrative that can oppose autocratic and repressive forces in order to seek and pursue their true call and destiny.
