Aurore Thibout - Memory combined with Feminity

Auteur : Kris | 02-12-2011

Ariane will surely regret not coming to Maison & Objet this year with me as I discovered this rare pearl among the enormous stands in “Scènes d’Intérieurs’: Aurore Thibout. I rushed back to Grenoble to tell her all (and you too of course!)

Photo credit : JiWon Shin

It’s not only the combination of the brut material and delicate lingerie theme that stopped me in my tracks (“memory clothes”), but her inspiration that pushed her to create such sublime pieces. Aurore explained to me that she regularly collaborates with the dramatic arts (theatre, dance, acrobatics…). I felt as though I was conversing with a little prima ballerina in tutu and toe shoes… so charming and humble!

“I always liked crossing disciplines. Clothing is a means of expression for me, and I love to explore as many domains; like sculpture, photography, casting and design, along with its relation to the object itself.”

La Nonna - 94x50cm, plaster stele, unique piece

The photos do not do her work justice as this piece was shown lying down on a coffee table with the lingerie absorbed into the plaster and not in relief as it seems in the photo. The bodice was concave and it appeared sculpted into the plaster with all the lace and zippered details.

I especially love mixing old vintage with new contemporary materials in interior design so I was immediately a huge fan! Faced with a choice between the 3 lingerie pieces, I would have had to take all three for my entryway (in my dream home of course!)

Ophelia - 110x50cm, plaster stele, unique piece

“My work is born from technical encounters, a savoir-faire and recurring images in my mind, via words or a character in a book like Shakespear’s Ophelia, poems or philosophy…(Roland Barthes, Jean-Christophe Bailly….)”

Modestie - 50x40cm, plaster stele, unique piece

Nonna and Ophelia are part of her collection called ‘Mes Gisants’ (recumbent statues) which she shares with us: “fossilized clothes, clothing as objects. For me they represent all the expression in search of memory, this acceleration and personal interpretation of a natural conservation process, a trace, which remains as lived! A fascination to fix a rare piece and choose to inscribe it in an eternal form”.

This petite Aurore is herself a unique piece who truly masters the crossing of disciplines from fashion designer to visual artist. On the fashion front, she also designs clothing which is ‘fleur de peau’ (ghost like) and are as expressive as her art works in plaster.

Photo credit : Patricia Canino

The cocottes want me to stop chattering too long but it is so difficult when exposed to such talent ! Too much to tell, to learn, to share with you…..So for those of you who want more :

“Anything can be a source of inspiration : visual and traditional artists (Claudio Parmiggiani, Anselm Kieffer…) but also steps to follow like those of Hussein Chalayan (his dresses buried for weeks underground and covered with iron filings so they remember time passed! One of the first images that I first noticed of his work), Issey Miake, Madeleine Vionnet….”

Photo credit : Patricia Canino

Aurore likes:
Poetry, inventiveness, humour, and worrying about the environment

Also these artists: Doris Salcedo, Femininity, poetry and engaging against the violence of society, Rachel Whiteread, Rebecca Horn, Cornelia Parker….

In the future she is going “towards international collaborations and exchanges, again and always!”.

Only vice : “chocolate definitely !”.

Her works are on show at museums : Atopos Museum in Athens, Cité Internationale de la Dentelle et de la Mode, Calais, Le musée Galliera also has some of her pieces, and at various galleries…

Bravo Aurore !

Web : www.aurorethibout.com
Contact : aurore@aurorethibout.com

This spontaneous interview really energized me to follow through the expositions in the Textile hall… More later !