On March 23, Belgian artist Maxime Matthys left his home dressed in a costume made with 150 exit certificates. He filmed the experience, widely relayed on social networks. ( I will put the video below )
From the start of its stroll, the few passers-by are obviously… stuck. "People quickly recognized this sheet that we all fill, they filmed me, took my picture." The artist did not want to create a crowd. "What did we do to get there? That’s what I wanted to share."
Two police cars meet him, slow down and continue on their way, smiling. But near the République metro station, Maxime Matthys was arrested by three police officers on patrol. "They told me they could verbalize me, but I was in good standing and it went pretty well, except that they forced me to destroy my costume." The artist had designed it to reuse it. "I had to throw it in the trash in front of them."
He wanted to challenge people, it was successful! 😎
- During its passage in town, the rare people present in the streets of the Breton city turned their glances towards this funny paper man. Of course, he did not escape the police either, who were determined to control him. As you can see in his video, he presents one of his many papers to them. Verdict: he was in order. The police asked him to destroy his costume, however, so as not to encourage the curious to leave their home to see him.
“I never imagined in my life having to have a certificate to go out on the street. The costume is a bit of a metaphor for the current situation and the crazy public health policy: quarantine and confinement are techniques that were created in the Middle Ages to fight the epidemics of the time like the plague or leprosy, "he explains to France Bleu, specifying that this performance is intended to appeal to the population:
" Disappearing under a mountain of attestations like that in the street is a way of questioning, provoking people and in a way the government. The question is: what are these certificates? What do they represent? Why did we get to the point where we had to stay locked up at home and write on a piece of paper the reason why we go out on the street? "
😷📽 A Belgian Artist During Confinement 📽😷
- The artist nevertheless recalls that he does not dispute confinement at all, on the contrary. He also claims to have only been out for an hour and to have followed the rule calling for no more than one kilometer from his home.