Célia Boulesteix

A Forest, 2024

Steel, latex, acrylic paint, dirt, screen printing,

120x110x24 cm   Wall piece

Celia's art installation A Forest, (2024) is linked to a larger six-month project titled "DUE (make a film)," which she developed in collaboration with 3D artist Florian Gauthiero. This project draws inspiration from a visit to the village of Domicella in Campania, Italy, where they encountered a mysterious and somewhat apocalyptic scene. The forest they traversed had sporadic small fires among the trees, creating a visually stunning yet eerie atmosphere, accentuated by the flickering light shining through the leaves.

The piece A Forest, (2024) involves a physical imprint in latex taken from a road in the village, layered with a silk-screened photograph of the forest, encapsulating the haunting beauty and isolation of the scene. The artwork is framed using pieces of metal barriers found on the streets. These pieces evoke the deteriorating signs seen throughout the village and reconstruct the landscape through these reclaimed materials. This method of assembly brings up themes of decay, reconstruction, and perhaps the looming threat of forest fires, reflecting a commentary on environmental and social degradation.

Célia is a French artist whose multidisciplinary practice explores contemporary space as a timeless, anti-monumental, and intimate vector, producing non-linear poetic narratives through her pieces. Célia graduated from the Ecole Duperré in 2019. Her plastic techniques vary according to the subject matter and unfold at different rhythms in specific projects and through ongoing research into photography, sculpture, and installation.

When asked to participate in the exhibition, Celia shared: "I feel very concerned about the subject. My work, in general, is not directly touching on the subject of ecological issues, disasters, and other « big subjects » that I found too big to « attack » with humility. But it always tries to evoke it by taking « fait divers » or small events in daily life as a starting point."