In the project Kreisverkehr (Roundabout), Matthieu Martin equips public artworks with labels, similar to those found in museums.
To ensure readability for motorists, these monumental labels adopt the scale and graphic standards of road signage, particularly highway signs. Hand-painted, they are temporarily deployed by the artist next to sculptures, within the continuous flow of traffic.
Like a protester, Matthieu Martin positions himself near roundabouts, holding up these oversized panels. However, rather than making a claim, he provides information. Each label presents factual details such as the title, dimensions, materials, and, most importantly, the name of the artist—information that is typically absent from public space and largely inaccessible to drivers.
Through this simple yet dissonant gesture, the artist extends the institutional ambition of transforming public space into an open-air museum, while revealing the limits of this promise when conditions of visibility and attention are not met.
The documentation of this performance is presented in the garden of the Völklinger Hütte, in an area called “Paradies”. It brings together four interventions carried out on roundabouts in and around Völklingen, several of which feature steel and Corten steel sculptures, materials emblematic of the region. Through these actions, the artist questions how public artworks are perceived, seen—or ignored—within the urban landscape.