'I Don't Want No Trouble' by Lucas Erin at All Stars, Lausanne

All Stars is pleased to announce the first solo show of Lucas Erin (b. 1990). Lucas is a French Caribbean artist based in Lausanne and Paris. 

I Don’t Want No Trouble is an exhibition that, through its double negation, evokes an attempt to escape, hopelessly in search of an impossible and silent retreat. This notion is a pivotal point throughout the exhibition. The pieces aim to find some resolution not only between different sources and types of stress, but the turbulences caused by the collision of these stressors—all the while acknowledging the physical and mental energy that are required by this quest. 

Lucas Erin is appropriating the space with his collages and assemblages of objects, sometimes counter-intuitive, materials and symbols. These ensembles make us oscillate between a feeling of vulnerability and the intention to be exposed, to shine. 

It is in the constant ambivalence that the pieces in the exhibition I Don’t Want No Trouble express theirselves: between discharging and resonating, listening and reading. Two punching balls decorated with bells face the viewer, titled Hochet, they evoke the image of a child’s toy used to entertain but also to sharpen the senses. Simultaneously mobiles as well as objects of the exercise of discharge, any interaction with these pieces becomes a happening. The bags sway slightly, revealing the impossibility of immobility, waiting for a resounding action to be made. 

A sound piece, created in collaboration with Christian Schulz, guides us through the space. To hold on and not to let oneself be hypnotized, these sounds, which are initially intended as exercises for breathing and personal development, are reworked in the style of chopped and screw. 

Joshua Idehen is the author of the printed poem. Lucas Erin hangs the text of this London poet on the wall; as a third and final sound piece in the exhibition space, the reading of this text is hidden in a delicate cacophony. 

On the wall at the back of the space, a collage is pinned inside a light box. It represents a sun. On each strip is painted an element: a ball of fire, a sun, glasses, drops of sweat, an upside-down smile. Representing only elements related to heat and glare, a feeling of suffocation emantes from this character. The little girl on the wall next to the light box lets her tears flow. 

The atmosphere is permeated not only by self-abandonment and determination, but also an interdependent tension between these two states. I Don’t Want No Trouble is an exhibition that is read, listened to, and even created by the action and exploration of the spectator. He is not only an observer but an actor as well. Lucas Erin offers his vision of a mental space of resistance.