Camille Theodet is a French artist creating "fragmented" works that can be read as a whole narration, attempting to deconstruct a feeling or action, by confronting subjects, focusing on a single moment resulting in visual allegories that deliberately maintain a certain ambiguity between subjects and genres.
Working to create a “primal atmosphere”, Theodet blurs the lines between eroticism & pornography, hunter & prey relationships, and the inherent sensualities that exist in animal behavior and its interplay with human tendencies.
Square One Gallery got the chance to take a look behind the curtain and speak to Theodet about his studio practice and inspirations that go into creating his narrative driven artworks.
What did the transition from makeup and special effects to painting look like for you? What does painting allow for you personally, that you felt you lacked in your previous mediums?
Well I was already painting and drawing long before I did my formation in the field of SFX makeup, as I previously did a Bachelor in Fine Arts in France. Doing special effect makeup is not that far from the "classical" mediums. One creates and paints directly on the face or the body of someone, instead of a canvas. Color theory is for example very important.
It is thanks to the special effects makeup training that I have been introduced to the airbrush, my main medium today. I actually still use the same today, as it was and still is quite a quality tool. However, I did not fall in love with it directly. It took me still a few years before I started to really try to use and master it as a fine art medium.
I use my airbrush the same way a painter would use his paint: I work in multiple layers, I pay great attention to what is coming over the next layer, the shadows and light. One can already achieve great results very quickly and in a satisfying way with the airbrush, and it can still look good. But I want to push the boundaries of what can be done with it, and still think that I can push it even more in my own way.
I don't feel like I was lacking anything in the way I was working before. It all developed very naturally, and it just feels right, just like it felt right when I was only drawing a few years ago.
How did the move from Paris to Berlin impact your career—artistically, socially, etc.
The fact that I wanted to have an art career was not actually that important in my decision to move to Berlin. I could have done that in Paris, or in a lot of other places for that matter. However, at the time, Berlin simply seemed to be the best option for me on several levels. I was craving change, I wanted to start something new. I did my studies in Poitiers, then Strasbourg in France, and after that, it was either Paris or Berlin. I took a shot, and I am still there and satisfied with my choice. I did start my career properly in Berlin, and today I am able to show my work internationally. I do not feel like my artistic path is absolutely linked to Berlin. But it is fair to say that the city did influence me a lot, as much personally as professionally. The club scene which doesn't need introduction anymore, the vibe and freedom felt in the streets, the people and of course the art scene, are all part of my life. The notorious fetish scene has particularly influenced my work for a while, but I am now looking for something more subtle, as I guess I am simply evolving just like I have seen Berlin change over the years.
What emotions do you find yourself commenting on the most?
I realize that I am very often going on the dark side of emotions. I am often looking for something strong, but yet I need it to be subtle. I do sometimes of course like to do something just "in your face", but that's not my goal. I paint as I feel, and I show what I feel I can not show myself as a person. Up until now I did not feel like showing a "brighter side" of things, or very rarely, not because I think it is not worth it, but simply because I do not need to do it.
I believe that human emotions are complex. I want to express raw feelings, a darkness that can be embraced or fought. I am looking for a certain sensuality in all this darkness. I like to depict a lot of hunter / hunted plays that could be read as dominant / dominated. I like to show the violence felt in love, or a feeling of panic, fear, or a show of affection, soft and yet sharp. Funnily enough, I am not comfortable talking about my own feelings, but I guess this is how my work was born. It is really about existential matters and concerns in life that I want to capture.
Do you think your recent works portray more comparing or contrasting imagery?
It is for sure different from what I was doing before. I was getting frustrated with my paintings, and I felt like I was not able to actually show what I wanted, it was just not enough. It took me a really long time before I was even just able to start trying something new. I started by superimposing images and objects on top of each other, and eventually I tried to completely split my canvas in two, and that's when I knew it was right.
Splitting my painting, comparing, contrasting imagery allows me to create a fragmented picture that can be read as a whole narration. I let the images talk to each other, giving two sides of one story. It is very often the juxtaposition, or the comparison of a same concept, yet with two different images, that I feel can finally express more in depth what I want to show. I do not want to show just one image with one subject, but rather show the subtlety of the concepts, its multiple points of view, its story told from two different sides. I am trying to create visual allegories that are based on a mood, a reflection, an emotion that I am capturing by letting the story unfold from those two points of views.
Are there messages about humanity you represent through the use of animals?
I actually started to paint animals very naturally, as I feel really close to them myself. To me, the animals are showing true reality, they can not fake it. It is raw, it is brutal, yet it can be soft, lovely. Humanity can be like that, yet I feel like we are losing it.
I have had the chance to do a safari in Tanzania, and I have been able to look up close to the real wilderness. The hunt, the chase, the kill, the share of food, of love, the reproduction, the protection of the tribe, the fear or others, the fights, it was all real, and it was all making sense with brutality. I am using this authenticity to depict those human emotions. I want to bring us back to a more natural state, without the gimmicks of our modern world. And when I do depict something "human made" I often make it burn, or drown... Simply because, to me, it is not the important stuff.
Even though it can be dark in some ways, it is not necessarily to say how bad humanity is; it is said and shown enough already in our everyday life. However, I want us to reflect on what is really important.
What influenced the somewhat recent transition to an absence of color in your art, and how do you think it has impacted your artistic journey?
With practice, I started to realize that working with black and white only allowed me to really work on the "vibe", the "feeling" of the picture itself. More I work with black and white and the more I find ways to really use it to express this feeling, to bring out dramatic lights and environments. It is not really about this "darkness" that I am expressing, but really more about depicting a certain atmosphere. It is a deliberate choice to let the painting speak, and to be able to focus more on what it is supposed to deliver as a story.
I am today passionate about this way of painting, and, if I go back to colors someday, I will handle it in a very different way.
Your earlier work focused mainly on portraits, as you’ve somewhat moved away from this, what messages remain the same and what has changed?
I was before doing a lot of religious portraits, mixed with modern elements and often elements from the fetish scene. I was already trying to express something about the deep thoughts in humanity, and its interaction with itself.
I am today very rarely depicting the human itself, and when I do, it would be only parts of it. I do not paint faces anymore, or if I do, it would be without "recognisable" elements, like the eyes. "The eyes are the mirror of the soul", and it is precisely what I want to avoid, it is already too personal. I want the viewer to be able to reflect on something or an idea, whatever is in the picture, and I feel like doing pure portraits would stop that from happening. I am of course not closed to the idea anymore, and I will probably at some point paint those things again, but it is for now not my focus.
What aspects of culture help to inspire your work—film, music, etc.
I guess I can be inspired by a lot of things. I listen to a lot of different kinds of music, from 70's, 80's, 90's music to pop, punk, metal, techno and its variants. I am very fond of ethnic or tribal music, and I love Viking inspired songs. I am a huge fan of Heilung, which I also listen to when I paint. It brings me back to a state of feeling connected with the environment, nature, and animals. It might be cheesy, but I need this break from the outside world and it can provide me that, let me connect with my inner self.
Movies in general can also be inspiring, but it is more random. I can just watch something, and maybe just a phrase or a picture will give me an idea. I of course also watch a lot of what other artists do, exhibitions of any kind are a great source of inspiration.
What vision do you have for the future of your work?
More paintings, more ideas, maybe smaller formats as well as big ones. I imagine already splitting my pictures even more, working on even more different subjects. I want to challenge myself. Maybe introduce a monochrome color kind of work. Of course, I hope to be able to show my work even more, everywhere in the world, and let my work interact with different cultures and ways of thinking. I simply hope to be able to touch people with my ideas, and that they can maybe relate.
For more information about Camille Theodet and original works, please visit his artist page.
Written by Cole Martinez
