ARTIFICE is a fusion of contemporary art, photography and fashion. It's an incredible exhibition of avant-garde art, inspired by artists such as Frida Kahlo and Andy Warhol, fused with Gael Froget's Art.Vandalism, blended with darker, gothic-inspired elements, all pertaining to the Idea of the Female.
In this post I interview the five formidable artists that gave birth to Artifice: Laurent Thevenau (stylist), Valerie Lee (make-up artist), Karen Pang (photographer), Gael Froget (art director) and Katia Moochooram (model).
Photo: Frederic Melotte
Some of the photos have been featured in the latest issue of Essentielle magazine, and on the night of the 14th of June you will be able to see the art in its entirety at the Hennessy Park Hotel.
How did this project come about? How was it created?
Laurent: I was immediately fascinated with Gael's art when I first discovered it. I knew I had to work with him. It was in an interview during his art exhibition that we talked about our ideas - I had a very clear conception of what I wanted to create and it was similar to what he had in mind. In order to turn our ideas into something concrete we needed to be surrounded by the best, and so I suggested to Gael that we collaborate with the people whose work we admire: Karen Pang, Valérie Lee and Katia Moochooram. When we talked to them about the project they were immediately interested.
Gael: It all started when Laurent came to interview me during my solo exhibition in February. I told Laurent of my desire to give life to my Art.Vandalism concept through photos. He immediately connected the idea to something similar he had in mind, and so straight away I tried to convince him to help me, which he gladly did. He told me that if we do it together it had to be with three specific people he mentioned, and surprisingly, I knew the work of each of them and I was a big fan. A few days later Laurent managed to convince the girls to be part of this crazy project, and luckily they were as excited as me, and from then on it was pure pleasure.
Katia: When Laurent approached me to talk about the project he had with Gael, I said YES in the following second. I knew the people I would be working with, the result could only be brilliant.
Karen: Laurent approached me and talked about the project that he and Gael had in mind. I found the idea of portraying Gael’s concept of Art.Vandalism into photographs interesting, and ultimately accepted to be part of this project. I was even keener when I knew that Katia and Valerie would be part of the crew. I have known all of them for quite some time and always wanted to collaborate with each of them. The Artifice project was therefore a great opportunity for me to work with all of them.
Teaser - all the pieces will be shown at the Hennessy Hotel on the 14th of June
What did you want to show through Artifice? Is there a message?
Gael: Artifice shows different sides that a same woman can have. Of course, we exaggerated a lot -always thinking about the Art.Vandalism touch and getting inspiration from famous references like Frida Kahlo, Diane Pernet, Warhol's work and many more...
Laurent: We wanted to reinterpret Gael's Art.Vandalism into a photo-shoot which was 'alive'. Different character traits pertaining to the idea of the Female were examined through symbolic references in art, such as Frida Khalo, 'la femme fatale'. We were also inspired by Andy Warhol, David Lachapelle, to name a few.
Karen: Artifice was principally made to portray a woman in different ways. I found the concept interesting as I believe that people, in general, have different personalities. In order to show this, we worked on different concepts. We explored the different sides of a woman; the dark, the bubbly, the sexy, the colourful side... We also wanted to pay tribute to icons like Frida Kahlo, Marilyn Manson, Diane Pernet and Andy Warhol while staying in line with Gael’s concept of Art.Vandalism.
We called this project Artifice because it is, as everyone can see, very superficial; we portrayed Katia differently for each concept with the use of makeup, clothes, accessories, props and photo retouching. It is crazy how one can look totally different with makeup, clothes and accessories, which is why I respect the work of Valerie, Laurent and the designers Bhavna and Danilo – they all contributed in changing Katia shoot after shoot. Katia did justice to the project by being the most versatile model I have ever worked with. She was able to completely blend into each character.
Art.Vandalised, and coffee. Prep time.
Gael, your aesthetic is very much present in this project, how was your experience as artistic director? Do you think you will be doing it more often?
Gael: Yes, it was intentional, every one working on this project analysed and understood what was the essence of my style and managed to beautifully reproduce it with their unrivaled skills. I am so lucky, I felt like I was creating [art] with five pair of hands and five brains. They really understood what I wanted and accepted to accompany me out of their comfort zone. We shared a lot of ideas, I learned so much from them and I have to say that we worked in perfect harmony. I would love to do it more often with them and I think that this is just the beginning.
One of the final images
How was it working with each other? I think it's the first time I see Essentielle Magazine doing such an incredible editorial!
Gael: It was a lot of fun working with them, they are such talented and positive people. I have an immense respect for their talent and patience. The idea of coming with a concept mixing contemporary art and fashion resulting in something a bit crazy had to be done. I think that fashion in local magazines lately have been very much like a mathematical equation, too logical! Editorials should inspire people and make them dream. I have too often hear people say that this type of work does not fit here in Mauritius, or it is a bit too avant-garde but I am here to change that - we Mauritians are allowed to fantasise, be up to date and dream big.
Laurent: This is the most enriching and incredible experience that I have had since I started working in fashion. Working with each member of Artifice was a pleasure. I think that this kind of project has its place in an editorial, and it's an open door to all the people who wish to show what they can do.
Karen: I have always wanted to work with open-minded, talented and motivated people, and working with Gael, Laurent, Katia and Valerie was a real blast! We all have strong personalities and working together was like a nuclear fusion, an explosion of creativity! Each of us brought something personal to the project; we all knew what we wanted as an outcome. I am very proud to have worked with such a great team. We did not only build respect for each other’s work, but a strong and genuine friendship too.
As creative people, we wanted to bring something new to the local scene. Being featured in Essentielle Magazine was a plus to our project. We did not want our project to be seen just as a fashion editorial, but like an artwork too, which is why we wanted to organize an exhibition. What is probably lacking here in Mauritius is creativity in magazine editorials. We wanted to show that we could innovate and do something different. We look up to amazing international editorials all the time, so why can’t we produce great editorials here too? Why can’t we exploit fresh talents here? There are so many local talents who produce amazing work and who can’t wait to show what they can do.
Preparatory Reading
Laurent, styling Artifice must have been quite a different experience from previous editorials and photo shoots. How did it go?
Laurent: My work as a stylist for Artifice was completely different compared to what I usually do. Normally, I research the latest trends which I adapt to Mauritius. But for Artifice, the styling had to be very artistically done so that it doesn't end up looking like a typical fashion editorial. All the team were there to speak of their ideas so that we could try different styling ventures.
Katia, Artifice is quite different from what you usually do modelling-wise. Did you have to prepare for it? How was the experience?
Katia: Sure, Artifice is totally different from what I've been doing throughout the years since I started modelling. Different in everything - the organasation, the collaborators, the free flow of ideas from everyone - I just love that environment. It was a challenge for me as a model, a chance to prove myself and show that I can surpass everything that I have done in the past. Artifice remains as the most important modelling experience that I have had to date.
We worked with a mood board for every theme, to use as a reference. However, we brought our own personal touch. For every character to be adopted I kind of effortlessly blended myself into them, once I had the make up done and the clothes on. By then, I was totally a different person. I felt like I was under the skin of the character, and I had an amazing time acting like them. This is why this kind of work is ridiculously exciting - I adopt a new face, each and every time.
Katia transforming into a femme fatale
What is the inspiration behind (and the foundation of) Artifice?
Gael: The idea was make something artistic very accessible by transforming it into an editorial. We were inspired a lot from avant-garde and very arty magazines from around the world and tried to understand how to create powerful images.
Laurent: We were all on the same wave length. Our different inspirations blended into our creativity to give birth to this 'Artifice'! The project was inspired by all our personal references, found in the best magazines and in art, that touched our individual sensibilities.
Karen: We wanted to blend fashion and contemporary art together. We were inspired by the avant-gardism of famous references like Frida Kahlo, Diane Pernet etc. One of our main inspirations for this project is the famous photographer David Lachapelle. We also looked through many art magazines and were inspired by bits and pieces of art. Each of us contributed in making this project what it is today, and even though we were inspired by a lot of artists, we all had our own baggage and we wanted to show what we could do in order to produce good work.
Karen, I've never seen you produce work of this kind before, how was the Artifice experience? The photos are brilliant, but how difficult was it to capture what was desired in the photos? Did you have an idea of the end product?
Karen: As a freelance photographer, I am always used to do everything by myself; the planning, the styling, the photography… It is good to be a jack-of-all-trades sometimes but working with people who know their fields very well is even more fun, inspiring and enriching. I am always used to produce the same kind of work, but since the beginning of this year, I have wanted to change and innovate my style of photography.
What was mostly interesting to experience in this project was the point of view and approach of each team member. I like working with other people because it teaches me things I could have never seen or explored without their insight. What I liked about this project is that we could all express each other. We could all share our own ideas and together we gave birth to this fantastic project. My role as the photographer was to portray everyone’s influences and talent in photographs. Gael knew how to direct this project and also knew my style of photography. Together, we agreed with each other and shared ideas. It was challenging but with such a good planning and team, I knew exactly what needed to be done in order to achieve the end product.
Valerie, how challenging was it to create the looks for the shoot? How was your Artifice experience?
Valerie: Yes it was quite a big challenge....Gael Froget's universe is quite unique and very avant-garde. The challenge was to take myself out of my element, my own comfort zone and illustrate his aesthetic whilst adding my personal touch /style to each make up.
After each shoot, I discovered that I really enjoyed doing all the make up. The outfits, accessories and especially the headpieces done by Bhavna really inspired me. The overall experience was really great..and the long hours and hard work paid off! I could not have wished for a better team...Thanks to Gael and Laurent for being the "masterminds' of this project, Katia for being our beautiful "chameleon" and Karen for being incredibly "gifted."
Was this planned to the exact detail or was it planned and things 'just happened'? It looks like you had loads of fun!
Gael: We had loads of fun, but everything was planned properly. The photo-shoots were held over three months, during which we had to synchronise on our free time, and this required coordination. We also had a very well-planned way of preparing our shoots, and I have to say that everyone was very professional.
Laurent: We discussed and exchanged ideas a lot. Everything was thought out, well organised because there was so much detail to take into consideration! We worked in harmony, and really formed a large family! We had so much fun together, because we had the same vision. As Gael said, everyone was so professional!
Valerie: We did plan each theme using reference pictures that inspired us individually. For me it was an important step as we were able to learn even more about the aesthetic of each one of us.We also had a mood board for each theme to help us do our "homework" separately. We had enough infos and ideas and on the shooting day, I'd say that things "just happened". I think one of the main reasons why the team worked so well together was trust. We had the normal trials and tribulations but in the end, we all had the same vision and trust in each other's craft/task.
Karen: As Gael said, we had a really good planning and we had to do everything properly in order to ensure that the project would be done perfectly. We also had lots of fun while discussing ideas, preparing everything and shooting. However, not absolutely everything was planned to the exact detail, sometimes we improvised with trials and errors. In the end, everything came together and we were all happy about the work achieved.
xoxo
Alex
Email: stylemauritius@live.com
Twitter: @Alex_W_Isaacs / @stylemauritius
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