Self-published by Robert Tombs, 2014. English and French texts by Robert Tombs, Michael Davidge and Richard van der Aa; 48 pages, 29.7 × 21 cm (11.7 × 8.3 inches), slip-cased hardcover with Smyth-sewn binding, offset. Design by Robert Tombs.

“The context of Tombs’s installation is as important as its content — or rather, it is through its context that content is smuggled into the space it occupies. The title of the work carries most of the weight. L’Occupation signifies on one level the activity of the artist himself. This is his job. He is making a painting installation about painting. He is also occupying the space with his work for the duration of the exhibition, and in this regard, the work occupies as much of the space as possible by covering all of the available walls.”

On another level, Tombs is explicitly positioning his work within a history of ‘occupations’ of Paris. In his artist statement for the show, Tombs claims that the work can be considered to allude to the Occupy Paris movement, to the occupation of France by the Nazis during World War II, to the reigns of autocratic kings that led to the French Revolution, and even to the reign of French Academic painting. If the stripped-down aesthetic of the installation allows for multiple, suggestive readings, it is largely due to the geographical location of the gallery, and the long history of Parisian seizures and conflicts in which the installation takes part. But additionally, there is a kind of delusional grandeur to the work, not only in the act of claiming such historical significance, but also in the use of basic store-bought materials to adorn the gallery with gold.”

> Michael Davidge, Review: L’Occupation, ParisCONCRET, Paris, France, C Magazine, Issue 118, 2013