Acrylic on stapled canvas, camouflage netting, acrylic spots and pigeon feathers, approx. 3,5 x2 x5,85 m.

(Click to enlarge)

2017

Always searching for new models to work with, it came to my mind to go see Nénette, the eldest of the orangutans at the zoo of Le Jardin des Plantes in Paris. I was captivated. This is an example of a surprising and emotional moment that stimulates my practice. In front of her, my mind kept associating the scene with the idea of confinement. 

In a rectangular closed room, I first painted a full sized portrait of Nénette. Then I hung a camouflage netting in front of her and finally, I added green spots with pigeon feathers to the ground. Produced in situ, La liberté des pigeons is a conscious strategy to let a composition reveal itself to the visitor step by step. Entering the room without window or lighting, he or she advances with a cell phone, sees shapes and colours emerge behind the net until eyes meet. Moving around in an environmental installation not only puts in place artistic effects but serves also to initiate personal narratives. Going out,  the visitor finds the pigeon droppings and feathers.