Marie Sirgue

Not considering reality face-on but instead looking for the angle that will best convey its singularity is one of the foundations of my approach. Whenever I start a project on a given territory, the first thing I do is explore it, observe it and gather images before walking away with what I have gathered and letting these things and thoughts come together and collide. Oftentimes, several of these leads develop alongside and echo one other. During my art school studies in Toulouse, I chose moulding as a preferred medium to capture reality. To this day, I still consider the reproduction, duplication, distortion, assemblage and texture modification of objects as a foundational aspect of my artistic practice. Even when I use other techniques (ceramics, marquetry, construction…), the principle of moulding (original object/copy) remains at the heart of my preoccupations. I present my pieces as counterfeits of reality. Through my actions, the objects that I manipulate acquire a new artistic and symbolic status, all the while retaining the trace of their original form.

My works exist for the sake of being questioned ; they are open to various interpretations. Distance and discretion are necessary, as are poetry and sometimes humour. This isn’t to say that I seek to deceive – I only want my works to generate slight confusion. The way people shape or simply adapt to their surroundings enthrals and worries me in equal measure.

Trad. Lucy Pons