Vincent
Pécoil (triple v gallery) / 2010
Aurélie Slonina creates an art «after nature», but the nature in question here has nothing to do with the pastoral visions of yesteryear. This nature has not only been domesticated, but synthesised, and adapted to the urban word - a nature that has become «green spaces», a purely negative definition of what nature is (in other words, everything which in the city is neither tar nor concrete). This negative space may be the result of urban planning, as in couvre-feu, or a «wild» (read:individual) intervention, as in Wild, where the flowery decoration (of balconies) is utilised as some sort of graffiti or tag, applied flower pot-wise. Both are actually a sort of signature or expression of self, a way of signalling one’s own presence in the urban space, of individualising a part of the territory.
A different Wilde (first name Oscar) thought that it was nature that imitated art. That it was the London fog which imitated the painting of Turner or Monet, and not the other way around. Our present-day nature is no longer the same as the one in London in the 19th century, it imitates abstract painting (the colza fields make great Peter Halleys), but also Dada and New Realism; it has also turned to recycling everything within its reach. What is deemed natural today, is above all the whole concern regarding base materials. By recycling forms and objects, the-visionary- art of the 20th century has played its pioneering role in what has become an economic and ecological imperative (recycling), and we can discern in Aurélie Slonina’s work, which is an image of art as much as of the nature it imitates, an attempt at looping the loop.
The function of fertilizers, air fresheners, and artifcial colouring is to make actual nature closer to ideal nature. Thus artifice applied to nature fits into a kind of classicism. By suggesting it is sending out the scent of the sea, Fraîcheur Marine [Sea Freshness] (a sculpture in the shape of a giant room fragrance device set on the coast line) casts doubton the true origin of “scent” (which is to the sense of smell what 'green space' is to nature). It is therefore coherent that Aurélie Slonina should explore other forms of classicism, such as formal French gardens, or their distant heirs, such as the succession of central reservations and roundabouts in Couvrefeu [Curfew], whose sequence conjures up a Morse sentence. From the underlying ideal of classicism also sprung the objective to bring nature under control, which is still guiding our civilization. In Aurélie Slonina's work, the formal French garden, an expression of the Cartesian will to become “masters and owners of Nature”, meets with the universal childlike pleasure of controlling miniature worlds. Both these ambitions are fairly mischievously called upon to cancel each other.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Interview
Sophie Peyrard to GREENKISS / www.greenkiss.fr
January 2013
Your latest exhibition at the Galerie Jeune Création (Young Creators Gallery), was entitled Vegetal Invaders #1. A plant invasion ?
One of my works was a series of stickers that could be placed anywhere, like street art. They were giant, urban window boxes. Those were more concrete than plant life, and this time they look more like flying saucers floating in space, come to invade us. Like a modified type of nature, the type we grow in green houses, the type we use fertilizers on. In my work, nature has two forms: the ‘modified’ one, and the wild one, the unwanted plants…
It reminds me of your other creation, Wild/Crash/Push, those graffiti shaped geranium flower boxes…
Yes, another example of ‘modified’ nature, like those flowers one puts on the window sill and on balconies, that you can buy at Truffaut or Jardiland, all that nature-in-a-box on one side, and on the other, graffiti that grows like weeds, which we strive to get rid of, and that keep coming back. These special window boxes were born from the clash of these two worlds, hybrid objects sprung from two opposite ideas. Clean meets trash, order meets chaos.
You also have a creation called Mauvaises Herbes (Weeds), can you tell us a little about it ?
I drew up plans for a French garden, like the ones created by Le Notre in the XVIIth Century, but distorted. Those gardens are very controlled, rigorously drawn by man. But instead of planting rose bushes and box trees, I put nettles, brambles, and other weeds that I had collected in urban settings. I was fascinated by the improbable mix that sprung from this association. The absurdity of it all illustrates mankind’s excessive control over nature that ends up getting out of hand, slipping into chaos… all the way down to GM foods and plants. I wanted to show that too much control over nature leads to abnormality.
I am also a great fan of a piece you made called « Fraicheur Marine » (Sea Breeze), which was very funny and offbeat. Can you tell us about it ?
All of the time, I get an idea because I have to work off the cuff. I was invited to the Anglet’s art festival, which was on the sea front. I was working at the time on the relationship between nature and artificiality, so I automatically came up with this idea : a sea-shore air-freshener ! On my arrival, the smell of salt water was so strong… Once it had been build, it almost felt like the smell came from the art instead of the sea ! It is completely artificial but fits beautifully in the background because it is almost the same colour as the sky, so much so that it sometimes is hard to see. It also looks like a surf board or a boat’s keel… It was like an artificial lung which was managing to integrate perfectly into a natural landscape.
What does working on ‘modified’ nature tell us about yourself ?
I grew up in a privileged neighbourhood where nature was very controlled. There were little streams, artificial lakes and bridges, very 1900’s. That is what I grew up with, what made me who I am. This artificiality, like a giant Smurf village, is also something I can’t stand. I needed to breath, I went out looking for urban waste lands.
Do you believe that artists are meant to influence our vision of nature and the environment ?
I am very aware of environmental issues, and I think we should take a stand. But I don’t think my line of work is about preaching, saying « we have to eat organic food ! We have to take care of our planet ! » That is not what I am trying to convey. I do not think it is my place to do so. An artist has to create wonder, surprise and questions. Sometimes it is through surprise that thought occurs.
Can you tell us a secret ?
My wildest dream would be to visit another planet.