Sebastien Theraulaz

My artistic work is rooted in my lived experience and the emotional shocks that have marked my existence. My impressions and awareness have shaped the nature of my discourse over the years, so I try to instill their emotional charge into each of my projects. My years of living abroad -- being a fore...

My artistic work is rooted in my lived experience and the emotional shocks that have marked my existence. My impressions and awareness have shaped the nature of my discourse over the years, so I try to instill their emotional charge into each of my projects. My years of living abroad -- being a foreigner, an entrepreneur, a free electron -- have shaped the artist that I am.

During my studies, I was impressed by the manifestos of the Futurism and Dada movements, especially their love of controversy and provocation. I am also inspired by the honesty and anarchic value of free forms like graffiti and street art, where the act is itself an expressive form, a physical statement that transcends the decorative aspect of the images that result. Certain themes are constant in my reflections: the contradictions of the human condition; our corrosive desire for normality; the biased relationship contemporary society maintains with its omnipresent images.

To create a clear voice for my ideas, I use whatever technique enables the right vocabulary, and search for any stimulus that will provoke reflections from the viewer. In this sense, the Bauhaus method had a decisive influence on my creative approach. I was a designer before being a craftsman, and I try to reveal this authentic self when expressing myself as an artist.

I practice drawing daily, so as to keep my mind alert and, at the same time, open new pathways to my unconscious mind. A few years ago, I also set up an printing/engraving workshop where I could experiment with vintage photographic processes. All these facets of image creation are joined in my practice as a desire to maintain nuance and subtlety while conveying powerful ideas.