A promotional video for high-end fashion brand Zadig & Voltaire featuring a fire fountain has come under fire after social media users said it resembled a work by artist Julien Charrier.
The video was first posted on Z&V’s Instagram on January 19 for the Women’s Fall-Winter 2023 show for Paris Fashion Week. In the video, three rings of a fountain are consumed by orange flames in the background. The source appeared in two more promotional videos posted on the account since Friday.
Related articles
Users were quick to compare the video to the 2019 work. Under it, liquid fire flows By Julien Charrier, a French-Swiss artist represented by Sean Kelly Gallery. In the year Participant of the 57th Venice Biennale in 2017, Charrier created a color film of a double-ring fountain where a slow-moving flame consumes a black background. His work has been exhibited in France, Switzerland, and New York, among other places, and was recently featured in Art Basel Miami Beach.
The sound of bonfires can be heard in both Charrier’s artwork and the video posted by Zadig and Voltaire.
From Julian Charriers, ‘And the liquid fire that flows beneath it’, 2019.
Courtesy Sean Kelly
In a statement on Instagram, Charrier said: “I have never been associated with this brand and I must state clearly that I have not given any permission.” “I discovered this campaign a few days ago, when people reached out to me about it and tagged me.”
“There is currently no resolution to this issue and it seems that the company has started deleting every comment that mentions my name under any of their posts and relays,” he continued, sharing a video of the original artwork. His post currently has over 2,000 likes and has been shared by famous artists such as artist Olafur Eliasson.
A representative for the Sean Kelly Gallery said. ARTnews “Julien Charrier did not participate in or give permission for his work to be used in this way.”
Zadig and Voltaire did not respond. ARTnewsRequest for feedback.
The brand’s runway show took place on Friday evening at Pouch, a contemporary exhibition and studio space dedicated to emerging artists in the Paris suburb of Aubervilliers.