Useful Lies - "The exhibition takes its title from the series of the same name. Useful Lies is notable, Antoine explains, as it is his first wholly optimistic body of work. This optimism is symbolized by a large, almost luminescent white ball, which he situates at the edge of a rocky ledge, on the bank of a rushing stream, under a vaulted canopy of trees, and in a quiet corner of his home, among other places. Some of the most optimistic people, Antoine imagines, live lives that are fraught with agony and hardship, and yet somehow they find this hopefulness that helps them keep going. Often such perseverance can only be achieved by way of what he calls “useful lies,” which we tell ourselves so as to save ourselves. The ball is this useful lie—this optimism that we carry around in the face of pain.
The white ball sits in stark contrast to the smaller black ball, which appears in series such as Les Cerveaux and symbolizes something darker and burdensome, even adverse."