Marseille lighthouse built and demolished by cardboard builder

 As part of the USE THE C!TY festival, making his debut performance was Olivier Grossetête. He intrigued a mass of people with his cardboard construction, which upon finishing he demolished. In Košice he built the Marseille light house. In Marseille, which is co-capital of culture this year, he will create Košice’s St. Michael’s Chapel.

Not even the rainy weather could stop the artist from France building the first cardboard monument in Košice. “It might not be very high, but it stands up anyway,” he told us before building began. Olivier had been already in Košice in October. “I was looking for a suitable site upon which to build.”

Cardboard art would not be possible without the hands of dozens of volunteers. A week before the festival they created larger building elements together with artist and main construction manager Olivier Grossetête, which were transported to the construction site. “He motivated us with videos, he showed us his previous work,” said one of the dozens of volunteers. Particularly students got involved with the work, but there was also no shortage of adult hands gluing and stacking boxes.

“I’m happy when I can work with lots of people, small children and adults and create a piece of work with them,” said the artist and added that they are an inspiration for him to create a piece of work. He loves the process when he creates an unusual type of art with people. “Works such as sculptures, paintings and structures can be seen and admired at any time, but mine are made only for the moment. Then I start making something new again.” Therefore, even the lighthouse in front of Aupark did not last long. The end never makes him sad though, because it means the start of something new again. Nobody has ever been injured during the demolition of a cardboard building. He explained that everything is organized and completely safe, even though the initially lightweight boxes can weigh as much as one tonne at the end.

First structures used to shake

He has no artistic role model, because he is the first artist to work with something like this. “Whoever follows someone else is not an artist, I think that an artist should be original.”

He remembers his beginnings with humour. “I was still a student when I started to construct buildings out of cardboard. They were not very stable. They used to shake and fall.” In 1998 he managed to create his first work, which he was very proud of.

He mentioned several countries, where he has worked. “I have been in Canada, Italy, Scotland, England, and of course my native France.” In ordinary life, he is an artist and apparently does nothing else. In France “building material” is quite expensive and sponsorship is provided by the manufacturers of cardboard. He was surprised that it was cheap here. “For the last five years I have dedicated myself just to this art, I am an artist and this is my profession,” he added. He regrets that because of work he only saw Košice city centre. In the hotel he is preparing for other projects that will be built in Marseille and at night he is studying logistics.