Interview : Chloé Wise
Il y a deux ans, j'avais la joie d'interviewer deux fois Chloé Wise, pour Jalouse et pour Elle; J'admire son boulot et je la considère comme l'une des artistes contemporaines les plus palpitantes. Alors que sa notoriété ne cesse ne cesse de grimper, retour sur ses confessions de l'époque (à l'état brut et dans sa langue maternelle).
When did you begin your art ? What was the click to start it?
Birth. I've been obsessed with making and creating artworks since I was a child. I've had a pencil or a paintbrush in my hand for at least 20 years. Moving to New York kicked off my full time pursuit.
What inspires you the most in the modern world ?
Salad.
What is the message you wanted to deliver with your « bread bags » ?
They were meant to serve as a critique to the authority that logos and designer names ascertain over individual consumers. The recognizable symbolic status of a logo, when attached to practically any object, Imbues that object with a desirable quality, or cultural capital. Marx would refer to this as "commodity mysticism", the mystic properties an object can possess, not because of the material or function or use value, but because of advertising and branding and associations with lifestyle.
Do you consider your art as disturbing ?
At times. I just made a sculpture of fake milk dripping through real cowhide, creating what I think is a pretty disturbing textural friction. My new show has a lot of these juxtapositions, illuminating the icky contrast of the food products we consume , and their initial form.
For your paintings, why did you choose yourself as a model?
I did one series of self portraits a few years ago. Since then I have been painting mostly my friends and everyone I know. But it's interesting that you choose to ask me that. I feel there is a slightly sexist association with people focusing on and judging women creating works of self representation. virtually every portrait painter creates works in the self portraiture genre so I'm not sure why it's surprising..
Who are your favorite artists and why ?
Celine Dion, self explanatory.
Do you see your art as political ?
Yes.
Do you see your Instagram and Twitter as a part of your art ?
No. Do you?
How would you define your art in some words ?
Constantly evolving in response to the ever shifting state of our zeitgeist.
What is the importance of art in life and his role in yours ?
A lense and outlet through which we can negotiate the ever mysterious human condition/ what I do to keep me from going full blown insane.
What is the subject of your next exhibition in Almine Rech ?
The theme of my show Of False Beaches and Butter Money begins with the exploring the fictive narrative associates with the consumption of milk and dairy products, and how these products are advertised and protrayed as wholesome, natural, normalized elements in our day to say consumptive habits, when in reality the nature of the dairy industry is much different, causing an effect of cognitive dissonance. As humans we tend to dissociate with some of the cruel realities of our habits, should they be inconvenient to our desires and morals. My show contains imagery of milkmaids and bountiful still -lives paying homage Vermeer, La Vache Qui Rit, and other signifiers of the" wholesome" qualities of milk, while also utilizing imagery that calls to mind the overall lactose intolerance of the american health and wellness movement. In contrasting and exposing the inconsistencies between advertising these products, and the reality of their production, I am highlighting the human capacity to shy away from truths to inconvenience us. Most people choose to ignore the reality of the milk and meat industry, which is a sickening transactional factory setting, and justify their consumption of meat and dairy but focusing on these fictional narratives and "wholesome" images.
Your next projets ?
Starting an artistinal cheese instagram for women. Just kidding.
Mon portrait de Chloé pour Jalouse / L'Officiel :
