Clémence Vazard’s artwork gives a voice to women
“Words are my material” says Clémence Vazard, the Paris based artist who is about to have a solo show Beyond Self Reflection opening on 27 August 2020 at Boogie-Wall in London (until September 27).
“Beyond Self-Reflection” was born in Mexico 2020, where Clémence asked Mexican women to send her a sentence that they must keep silent in order to be accepted (by society, their families, their colleagues, their spouses, their friends). She received strong, powerful, heartbreaking and moving statements that she wrote in lipstick on the mirror paper stretched over a frame.
“I believe in the power of intimate stories to change History. What I want as an artist is to create inspiring artworks for women to speak up their true-self.”
Clémence Vazard
The works transform tools of oppression into tools of expression. Her canvas is the mirror and her paint is the lipstick. “I have developed my own process to use these materials, mirrors and lipstick representing the beauty standards imposed on women”. In order to achieve the desired effect, the artist combines the lipstick to a specific varnish and applies several layers, taking between two to four weeks to become permanent.
As everyday objects, they also respond to the artist’s desire to create an intimacy between the work of art and the spectator. The letters of the text are written from left to right, giving the strange impression of having been written by a person on the other side of the mirror in front of which the spectator stands.
The mirror effect intended by the artist questions the reality of the world, in which we live in. A world, where reality is altered, erroneous by the norms of representation that prevent us from expressing ourselves and others in all sincerity. “The mirror foil is stretched and draped so it deforms our image and is playful. It creates an interaction with the viewers who often take selfies in front of the artwork, something I had not necessarily anticipated”.
The Boogie-Wall gallery in the heart of London is dedicated to champion women artists among them Adelaide Damoah, who was the link between the gallery and Clémence “it is a beautiful story of artistic sorority”.
Clémence Vazard started her career in 2009 after a Master in Arts and Cultures Studies at the Sorbonne and has since then been exhibited in solo and group shows and performed in festivals internationally.
By invoking the power of women’s stories, Clémence Vazard creates participative artworks while adopting new mediums to produce a collective impact. She is a thought leader in art and feminism and is regularly invited to give talks or museum lectures about women artists and feminist movements. She recently co-founded “META collective” with 13 French women artists and is an associate artist of Loud Spring international Art Tank.
The artist will be giving a lecture on zoom on August 27 (registration required at exhibition@boogie-wall.com). The exhibition will be available online with a registration here
Originally published at https://thecuriousfrenchy.wordpress.com on August 25, 2020.