Stalactite is a mixed-media installation using extracted limestone-based stalactites from abandoned buildings in Charleroi and underneath the Brussels’ Canal to give them a second life. Like an encapsulated natural event, the stalactite taken from old buildings is assisted by a machine that perpetuates its expansion. The small volume of water from this leak creates a drip, infiltrating the center of the stalactite, which is comparable to a straw or a limestone syringe. The phenomenon is fragile, and its formation too slow to be observable.

Vivien Roubaud graduated with distinction from the École Nationale Supérieure d'Art of Villa Arson (Nice) in 2011. Beyond simple recuperations or rearrangement of waste from consumer society, his sculptures incorporate autonomous and breathing systems. The artist aims to extract unusable qualities or properties hidden in the objects that surround us in our daily life. The active cohabitations that he orchestrates often clash, adopting precarious and unstable equilibriums. Bypassing functionalities and disorganizing savoir-faire are goals that require him to adopt a distanced view. Dust or pollen, printer or freezer parts are brought into play to create hybrid installations, which often maintain a tenuous dependence on fragile technical solutions.