In creation, I have always felt in-between. In Fine Art, I am too much of Decorative and vice versa. I constantly have the impression that it's a problem; you have to choose a box that you fit into, otherwise the creation has no value. But it is this ambivalence that I like, it is the meeting of different mediums and the clash of different codes or even their complete erasure that interests me. For my collection I decided to assume this state, this indecision, both in content and in form.
My starting point is the emptiness of an in-between.
After several discussions with a friend, Bonnie Lavallée, who is a student in typography and edition, I realised that Books and Clothing are two very different and similar fields.
I started from the observation that fashion was a way to document, to keep a trace of the body since it touches and adapts to it; forms itself according to it. The book, which is also a means of documenting the body, also interacts with it and is designed according to it (large background for the fit, optical adjustments, material, format, etc.). As I have long been very attached to the plastic practice, the creation of images, and writing in my projects, I wanted to reconcile these two objects to document the body.
My garments are thought of as a book and Bonnie's book is thought of as a garment. In addition to sharing this function, these two domains share a multitude of notions and vocabulary; body/back/folds/screens/binding/material...I then looked at the material aspect of these two objects. So, after all this research and discussion with Bonnie, the study of the multitude of analogies and links between our two practices, the desire to work together arose: questioning, sharing and even reversing the practices by experimenting with analogies.
For each of my looks, I started from a concept linked to publishing: the double page, the footnote, the illustration and its subtitle, the paragraphs, the margins... etc.
I also developed a series of drawings of crumpled paper balls around the idea of emptiness, of the in-between.
I am mainly interested in "empty", in-between", "crumpled", "battered", seen as meaningless.
The wrinkled hands of my grandma, creased paper balls, white book pages.
I always start off with 2D; drawings, collages, film photography. I consider each of them as an individual piece, and all of them help me to get to the final global project. What interest me the most is the transition from 2D to 3D and how both are linked. How can I draw in 3D (with fashion) and mold in 2D (with pastel). I want to break the hierarchy between mediums, for me there is no "research" and "final", it's only one project.
I think what's interesting me the most in fashion is its capacity of bringing an artistic subject to the closest place of social practices.
Culture and ecology have to be present in each project as they directly touch it by having for medium the human body.
I want to work mainly about ecology through the process of my work, not only with the fabric choices but also with the techniques:
how can a creative process be socially and ecologically sustainable?
I create garments that the consumer can consider not only has a final product but as a stage of creation that they can develop further if they like, and so, never get bored of it and never trash it, but also develop it through their own vision and create new and mixed social standards.
SHOOT PHOTOGRAPHY: IRFANE KAHAN & LUCAS BELHADJ; MUA: ZOE JEANDEL
