La création d'images est, pour moi, la meilleure manière de s'exprimer. J'utilise la sculpture et l'installation pour innover des figures de rhétoriques frappantes et animées. Je suis inspirée par la littérature qui utilise des procédés tels que la parabole, l'hypotypose et la métaphore. Tout comme l'ont fait les auteurs : Georges Orwell, Art Spiegelman et Eugène Ionesco, j'utilise l'humour, le sarcasme et la satire pour adresser les problèmes sociaux-politiques de notre époque. L'animal est un symbole à qui j'attribue des qualités humaines, faisant de lui l'emblème de nos comportements.
Après avoir étudié à Los Angeles et fait un stage à St-Petersbourg, je me suis sensibilisée aux styles architecturaux mis en valeur dans chacune de ces villes, ainsi qu'aux lieux de prédilections des artistes de la rue. Je suis fascinée par le (sur)développement urbain, l'art de rue, (la rue en soi et l'imagerie qui s'y déploie, sous forme artistique ou non) et ce que je considère comme le gâchis méthodique des banlieues. Étudier dans deux villes aussi différentes était un point tournant pour mon travail. En vivant à Los Angeles, j’ai pu constater le manque de planification urbaine ainsi que l'horrible système d'autoroute qui fait le cauchemar de quelques millions de californiens chaque jour. Los Angeles est le produit des corporations et des grandes entreprises. À l'opposée, St-Petersbourg a été créé pour impressionner et pour plaire. À l'époque, le seul but de cette ville était de prouver la richesse matérielle et intellectuelle du souverain en place. Si l'architecture classique symbolise la démocratie, son sens en est tout-autre. Ces qualités, bonnes ou mauvaises donnent de la vie à une ville et nous permettent de se former une opinion au-delà de sa fonction.
Avec cela en tête, je me suis intéressée à l'installation. J'ai sorti mes œuvres de l'atelier pour les installer dans mon environnement naturel, c'est-à-dire la ville Mon travail a évolué de la personnification de l'animal au symbole de celui-ci dans la jungle urbaine.
Pour en savoir plus: www.laurencevallieres.com
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As an artist, one’s goal must be to express what is common and mundane in a way that makes it interesting and novel. To this end, I use animal imagery to symbolize and represent political issues and social behavior. My work is greatly inspired by literature from the authors Georges Orwell and Art Spiegelman. Their deft use of metaphor allowed them to critique an issue or philosophy without explicitly stating the target of their anger. This use of metaphor gave their work the feel of a widely-circulated, savage inside joke. Similarly, I create art that maintains both visual appeal and an understated sense of humor. I want the meaning of my pieces to both capture the eye of the viewer initially and leave them with something to consider long after they’ve left. I sculpt monkeys, elephants and rhinoceroses, thinking about their human correspondents or the ideologies they represent.
Studying in Los Angeles and doing an artist residency in St-Petersbourg Russia transformed my work. The city as a concept has always been a source of inspiration for me, and experiencing two different cities like that was a turning point in my evolution as an artist. I am fascinated by architecture, urban development, street art and the methodical mess of the suburbia. In Los Angeles I could not help but notice the waste of space of the suburbs and how difficult it was to get around without using the congested, aesthetically disgusting freeway system. Los Angeles is the product of corporate and companies Conversely, Ste-Petersbourg is a city created to look impressive. Classical architecture shines like it was invented there. If at one point this style of architecture was emblematic of democracy, it has shifted dramatically when it was built purely for the purpose of showing one’s power. These qualities, whether good or bad, add life to the city. They allow us to form opinions and feelings about cities beyond their purely utilitarian functions, and in this way what is overtly glass and steel can become, in the mind of inhabitants, the body parts of a living organism. With that in mind, I’ve recently become interested in installation. I started to take my sculptures outside, installing them in the city where they belong. As my work is heavily influenced by political philosophy and criticism, I decided that public spaces would maximize my ability to reach my audience and make them consider the themes behind my work. Additionally, I became interested in exploring the juxtaposition of an artwork in an unexpected environment and the reaction it creates. Hiding a small sculpture in the cracks of a wall, posing it on the sidewalk or letting it hang from a tree made me think about the purpose of showing art and how it is done. What is graffiti art and what is vandalism?
Studying in Los Angeles and doing an artist residency in St-Petersbourg Russia transformed my work. The city as a concept has always been a source of inspiration for me, and experiencing two different cities like that was a turning point in my evolution as an artist. I am fascinated by architecture, urban development, street art and the methodical mess of the suburbia. In Los Angeles I could not help but notice the waste of space of the suburbs and how difficult it was to get around without using the congested, aesthetically disgusting freeway system. Los Angeles is the product of corporate and companies Conversely, Ste-Petersbourg is a city created to look impressive. Classical architecture shines like it was invented there. If at one point this style of architecture was emblematic of democracy, it has shifted dramatically when it was built purely for the purpose of showing one’s power. These qualities, whether good or bad, add life to the city. They allow us to form opinions and feelings about cities beyond their purely utilitarian functions, and in this way what is overtly glass and steel can become, in the mind of inhabitants, the body parts of a living organism. With that in mind, I’ve recently become interested in installation. I started to take my sculptures outside, installing them in the city where they belong. As my work is heavily influenced by political philosophy and criticism, I decided that public spaces would maximize my ability to reach my audience and make them consider the themes behind my work. Additionally, I became interested in exploring the juxtaposition of an artwork in an unexpected environment and the reaction it creates. Hiding a small sculpture in the cracks of a wall, posing it on the sidewalk or letting it hang from a tree made me think about the purpose of showing art and how it is done. What is graffiti art and what is vandalism?
