There are a lot of posters in Arles. Most of them advertise various things, from art showings to bands to indicating where to go for French language lessons. There is also a lot of scope for Street Art, something I always look out for. One artist I kept coming across in Arles was Marie Pourchot.
Marie describes herself as a textile artist and she plasters various walls, throughout the world, with examples of her work.
Poésie sur kimono, featured above, has recently been seen on walls in Washington DC as well as in Arles and Montpelier, where I think she lives and works.
Originally she painted but, following studies in ethnography she changed her medium to material. She wants to combine fine art with textile art via an anthropological approach. You can see various cultural references throughout her work.
She also works with wearable art, an obvious extension of her training in not just textiles but also embroidery, feather work and styling which she studied in, extensively. In her own words:
The wearable art is a concept that rests on transversality of arts, because it merges visual arts (fine arts and textile arts) and contemporary dance. By following the principle of symbiosis, the moving body brings to life both the art and the costume forming a whole. The dance becomes moving decor and the costume a decorated movement.
Marie Pourchot, Kiminoshima
Her wearable art harks towards Japanese influences which can be seen on her website linked above.
She has presented at various exhibitions but her exposition called My Sweet Dragon Land is surely her best. It features the two pieces above and the one below. The exposition explores things created by man including iconography that points towards superstition and religion.
“My sweet dragon land” questions and thematizes the expression of our collective and individual imagination, our intercommunications, our intentions, and our perceptions. “My sweet dragon land” is my representation of the world with its range of human emotions, moving and interwoven.
Marie Pourchot, My Sweet Dragon Land
Baroong time above reminds me of Bali.
Her work is instantly recognisable as you wander around the streets of Arles which is handy for a collector of street artists like me.
