Dispatchwork, Mosaic installation in Rouen, France
Travail à la tâche is a mosaic installation by artist Jan Vormann on the facade of the Palais de Justice in Rouen, made from small colored plastic pieces. The pieces fill damaged spots in the old stone wall, creating a visible contrast between the historic masonry and the bright material.
Jan Vormann started his project of filling gaps with plastic bricks in Italy in 2007, then traveled to many countries to work on damaged walls. The facade of the Palais de Justice in Rouen still bears bullet holes from the Second World War, which this intervention brought back into focus.
"Travail à la tâche" is a French expression meaning piecework, hinting at the patient, repeated gesture of filling small gaps one by one. Students from a nearby school were invited to take part themselves, pressing plastic bricks into bullet holes and turning the work into a shared experience.
The installation is freely accessible from outside and can be seen from the street at any time without an entry fee. It is best visited in daylight, when the colors of the plastic stand out most clearly against the stone.
The intervention was planned from the start as a temporary work: after a few days, the plastic pieces were removed so the facade could return to its original state. This short lifespan was intentional, and the same approach has been repeated in cities across the world.
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