ELSA SAHAL MEETS CAMILLE FOURNET
Elsa Sahal’s work can be summarized by her multiple, experimental creations in ceramics. She perfected her technique through numerous residencies in France and abroad to arrive at the style for which she is now known. Working with earth, a malleable material that can take on the shape that one desires, allows Elsa Sahal to confer an enigmatic aspect to each of her creations. Her sculptures appear abstract, but refer to recognizable elements: plants, minerals, even the human body.
EQUINOXES
« Sculptures that stand somewhere between diverse forms of the body, anthropomorphic fauna and flora in its wild state. »
What made you want to participate in the équinoxes project?
When I met Jean-Luc and Françoise Déchery, I was very excited about the idea of collaborating with the house of Camille Fournet to draw on the excellence in savoir-faire for which it is known. I wanted to bring together my techniques with those of leatherworking. Mixing ceramics and leather had long been one of my desires. When this opportunity presented itself, it was very lucky for me.
What sources of inspiration guided your work?
In visiting the manufacture, I understood something very simple: in the leather goods department, volumes are constructed by working the leather around an empty space, using a pattern-cutting system. Camille Fournet bags feature rigid elements that contrast with very supple ones. This is what characterizes the design of their bags. I use the same technique when working with earth, which I model in plates around an empty space. Therefore, it was in drawing on this shared language, moving from the pattern to the final form, from 2D to 3D, that we were able to discuss with one of the manufacture’s prototypists, in order to interpret my masses of earth into masses of leather.
How should your artwork be understood?
Acrobate is a sculpture that evokes the body’s movements. It is composed of fragments that are assembled together for the duration of their exposition. This figure can be disassembled and reassembled in various manners. It’s not an idealized body, but rather, a temporary, precarious construction. All of my work references the body. Acrobate is an attempt to represent the intensities felt in movement.
Acrobate, Elsa Sahal, 2019
Credit photo : Kinuko Asano
Elsa Sahal’s workshop
Photo credit: Kinuko Asano
Details of the artwork
Photo credit: Kinuko Asano
Details of the artwork
Photo credit: Kinuko Asano
Details of the artwork
Photo credit: Kinuko Asano
CAMILLE FOURNET ENJOYS PLAYING WITH MATERIALS AND COLORS. WE LOVE CREATORS, THEIR INVENTIVENESS, THEIR ABILITY AND THE WONDER THEY'RE CAUSING.