High-fashion brand Zadig & Voltaire has come under fire for a promotional video featuring a flaming fountain after social media users said it bore a striking resemblance to a work by artist Julian Charrière.
The video was first posted to Z&V’s Instagram on January 19 to promote the Fall Winter 2023 women’s show for Paris Fashion Week. In the video, the three rings of a fountain are illuminated with orange flames consuming the background. The fountain was featured in two other promotional videos posted to the account as of Friday.
Users were quick to compare the video to the 2019 work And beneath it all flows liquid fire by Julian Charrière, a Franco-Swiss artist, represented by the Sean Kelly Gallery. Charrière, a participant in the 57th Venice Biennale in 2017, created a looping color film of a twin ring fountain consuming itself in slow motion flames against a black background. The works have been exhibited in France, Switzerland and New York, among others, and were on view at the recent Art Basel Miami Beach.
The sound of a crackling fire can be heard in both Charrière’s artwork and the video posted by Zadig & Voltaire.
A still from Julian Charrière’s And Beneath It All Flows Liquid Fire, 2019.
Courtesy of Sean Kelly
“I have never been contacted by this brand and must state clearly that I have not given permission,” Charrière said in a statement on Instagram. “I only discovered this campaign a few days ago when people approached me about it and started tagging me.”
“As of now, there is no resolution on this matter and it appears that the company has started deleting any comment mentioning my name under any of their posts and reels,” he continued, sharing a video of the original artwork. His post currently has more than 2,000 likes and has been shared by prominent art professionals such as artist Olafur Eliasson.
A representative from the Sean Kelly Gallery said ARTnews that “Julian Charrière has not participated or given permission for his work to be used in this way.”
Zadig & Voltaire did not reply ARTnews‘s request for comment.
The brand’s runway show took place on Friday night at Poush, a trendy exhibition and studio space dedicated to emerging artists in the Paris suburb of Aubervilliers.