The Nice Carnival is fast approaching. Only one month left before the event! But for now, painters, costume designers, and electricians are working tirelessly to create the big heads themed around deception.
Deception is everywhere. So keep your eyes peeled! All in blue overalls, the designers are busy with their respective tasks. On the agenda: 20 floats to finish before the big day. Among the topics covered, politicians, sports, consumers, and surgery will be featured.
A face-to-face, a handshake, and smiles on their faces. This is how Jacques Chirac and Tony Blair will be depicted. Where is the deception in this scene? A two-faced big head located where the hair meets the neck. The other face less happy and less cooperative. For Eric Dubreil, a decorator and coordinator between the designers and the carnival workers, it’s a fine demonstration of manners but also perhaps of hypocrisy. “There have been tensions between France and England. Nevertheless, both men must behave properly towards each other.”
Anyway, everyone can interpret it in their own way. That’s what Isabelle, a press officer at the tourist office, explains. “The Carnival is a day where everything is allowed. That’s why one can laugh about it or see beyond it. No matter what, the most important thing is to have fun.”
And as for interpreting things, the spectators will be well served. Opportunities will abound. The float “False Funeral” will form a funeral procession. Literally, the man leading the procession is holding a photo of a sportsman, the one who has died. And yet, the deceased is among the coffin bearers. Due to violence in stadiums, doping, shady transfers, … sport is slowly dying. This is the message conveyed by the drawing of the Russian Viacheslav Shilov, the designer of this float.
The one conceptualized by the local illustrator, Jean-Marc Eusebi, will display a metallic manga character playing a combat between big heads representing two children. The question here is, who is manipulating whom? Are the children controlling a game, or is it the other way around?
In the realm of surgery, plastic will be featured. Titled “Balloon Surgery,” the float will carry an undressed big head. It is a woman having breast augmentation. Real or fake breasts, this is the start of a deception. Indeed, it’s hard to escape the tyranny of appearances. Deception, more deception, with a float “Light-Generation”. In a society where light products are becoming widespread, obesity is paradoxically on the rise.
A contradiction clearly highlighted in this Carnival. As for the queen, a drag queen, whether she is a woman or a man, doubt reigns. The highlight of the show: the arrival of His Majesty the King of Carnival, who will open the 17 days of festivities. But to see him, one must be patient. The carnival begins on February 11th.
Visit the Nice Carnival website.
