Artistic statement

Stemming from both artistic wolrds of the circus and dancing, my approach to sculpture is closely related to the language of performance. A powerful need to move, entertain and raise issues through stories is what motivates my artistic gestures.

 

I sculpt in wood animals that are often solitary and vulnerable. What emerges is candid aesthetics that often carry darker themes however.

At first glance, my sculptures have indeed a friendly and touching appearance. Then, when you pay closer attention, you notice nicks, abrasions and scratches which cross them, underlying a different reality.

 

These scars and marks intentionally left by an instinctive, direct and raw production process. Evoking the process of creation in its final format is a way for me to highlight the emotional investment deployed in the material, but above all else, it contributes to nourishing the uniqueness and authenticity of the animal which bears the marks specific to its own creation.

 

Over time, my relationship with the precariousness of biodiversity and the environment has taken a major place in my work. This scarring effect is is therefore directly linked to the relationship we have with nature and its fragility. My feeling of powerlessness to protect her is reflected in the subjects that drive me. The result is a works composed of a complex mixture of gentleness, urgency, helplessness, candid hope, tragedy and humor.

 

The use of color, for its part, is a direct translation of circus makeup. The camouflage, the distortion, the contrast in shadows and lights as well as the exaggerated saturation allow me to move away from realism which would aim at the simple physiological representation of the animal. This formal distancing, thanks to coloring, rather serves to highlight the personality and state of mind of the animal. I also make use of the contrast between the tender and childish visual of my sculptures and the scarred appearance of the surface to speak of authenticity. Perhaps as an analogy with the “stage world” where makeup camouflages and where the truth and false mingles. Or more simply, as a reflection of public versus solitary life.

 

It is undeniable that my fantastically coloured animals often echo the feeling produced by the stuffed animals of our childhood whose touching gaze inevitably stimulate in us an anthropomorphic reflex. Over time, I discovered that this irresistible urge to attribute human characteristics to objects or animals is a emotional phenomenon which allows me, through my work, to move a very wide audience.