THE VENUE, THE CITY Papa Kub | Yann Kersalé

The lighting of the theatre’s exterior, designed by Yann Kersalé, changes according to the type of activity going on inside. Whenever there is a performance, a slow rhythmic pulse drifts through the red light. Whenever there are rehearsals, the pulse twists and waves, and when the theatre is inbetween shows, but work continues, the cubes lighting drifts with the breeze. ‘The cube is like the building’s electro-cardiogram. We’ve designed the three states very simply, and the lighting does not consume much electricity, although it is very durable’.

A permanent fixture on the skyline of Gennevilliers, Papa Kub is like a lighthouse in the centre of town. A signalling tower, as much as a meeting place. The red cube on top of 41 avenue des Grésillons watches over Gennevilliers at night. The man responsible for this landmark is Yann Kersalé, a light artist. When the architect Patrick Bouchain asked him for ideas about how to mark out the Théâtre de Gennevilliers, Kersalé did not hesitate for even a moment. For him, Gennevilliers is a town different from any other.

Kersalé found inspiration in an object very close to his heart. It was an red old shirt, which had it not been constantly re-washed, would have turned grey. This had been his father’s shirt. He had kept it lovingly in a case in his studio near the métro station at Château de Vincennes. Along with two photographs and a lifetime of memories, it was all that remained of the 35 years his father had spent working in the now defunct factories of Chausson de Gennevilliers. 

Jean-Pierre Thibaudat