On May 25, 2021, as part of the first sustainable art auction organized by ChangeNOW Community and Christie's France, The Caring Gallery invited Julia Gault, artist, Caroline Venet, designer and Tim Zdey, street-artist, to talk about their work.
Florence Manuguerra, founder of The Caring Gallery, and Ronan de La Croix, curator at ChangeNOW, moderated this debate on art, ecology and creative intent.
« This unique sale presents subtle and strong works by artists who shape the "already there". » Ronan de la Croix, Curator at ChangeNOW.
RECYCLED AND RECYCLABLE WORKS
Julia Gault :
« My work Where the Desert Meets the Rain is made out of containers that are destined to collapse with water. Then, I recover the soil, moisten it, and then I remake containers from the same material. »
Caroline Venet :
« I reuse leather scraps, I'm interested in recycling leather in the creation of a new material Because of this, I value the flanks of leather skins that have very carnal, very organic shapes and that are constantly disposed of by the leather goods or fashion industry. »
Tim Zdey :
« Actually, my job is to paint. I like to try my hand at other things and I wanted to find an object to dress up and rehabilitate. That was really the goal of my process when I went to this junkyard not really knowing I was going to find it. »
WONDERMENT IN THE FACE OF MATTER
Julia Gault :
« In my work, I talk about this desire to erect matter which is a gesture, for me, against nature because it goes against gravity. It is thus a very tiring work where my body is put to a severe test. The gestures are repetitive with heavy materials that collapse and that I have to raise. So I have an extremely physical relationship with my sculptures and I would like visitors to feel the action, the gesture, the body in negative facing the material, in front of this sculpture. »
Caroline Venet :
« I work with leather, so it's something quite carnal: it's skin to skin. It's a medium that is really direct and soft, a bit addictive. I've also worked a lot with ceramics, which also has a pretty important emotional weight. »
Tim Zdey :
« This is a car model that was made before 1997. I found it in a junkyard in great condition; it was dusty and full of dirt but completely functional, even the engine. This car was at least twenty-five years old, still in good condition and left to rot. I was very surprised. »
A SPONTANEOUS ECOLOGICAL AWARENESS
Julia Gault :
« The term 'committed' reduces the meaning of the work. Obviously, in my practice, there is the question of the reuse of material, which has its place in ecological themes. But I do it because it makes sense in what I wanted to say as a sculptor. It obviously has a "sustainable" meaning because I don't buy it again, because I use the same soil, but it especially makes sense in relation to what I want to say about the material, about this transformation. One could say that it is an ecoresponsible approach. But not only. For the better. »
Caroline Venet :
« My commitment is daily. It is in my practice in the choice of design, yes, but it is not something I claim. I think that design in 2021 imposes a methodology or a form of practice that is part of a new way of consuming. I'm not there to commit to any particular cause. It's just innate in my work. »
Tim Zdey :
« If we sort out our waste, if we are careful about what we consume, this has a repercussion in our jobs. We ourselves are the ones sourcing our consumables. So yes, I do it naturally because I believe that we should all do it. At each level, professional or personal, but I find that the word commitment is not very useful. »
INTENTION OVER TECHNICALITY
Julia Gault :
« The question of technicality could be replaced by the question of gesture, approach, process. The process is more important than the technique: it is the intention, the poetry, it is to go to seek a specific material to say something rather than to explain a technique. It's more important to question our contemporary society than to understand how a work is made. »
Caroline Venet :
« The process is the core of every project. The material is the heart of each project. To bring the Living back into our modes of consumption, into our interiors, into the object, into the furniture, into the scenography, but also into the exhibition scenography. This is what is being told. The whole story, in fact, rather than a format, a medium. »
Tim Zdey :
« I would say that my work, as a street artist, all the walls I've done are worthless without a story. I often explain to the inhabitants, and I have no choice: it becomes a human adventure. My paintings are often quite simple graphically and this is what allows me to bring people into the painting, to prove to them that they are capable of painting. In the end, the painting we made is something very simple, but it is beautiful and super rich with history and shared moments. »
Ronan de La Croix, Commissaire d'exposition chez ChangeNOW
Florence Manuguerra, Fondatrice de The Caring Gallery