LAZNIA 1 LAZNIA 2 Hélène Thiennot in Gdansk
Hélène Thiennot
October - December 2018
October - December 2018
Residency of Hélène Thiennot in Gdansk takes place in the frames of artist residency exchange program initiated in 2011 by Apollonia – European Art Exchanges association in Strasbourg, City of Strasbourg, City of Gdansk and LAZNIA Centre for Contemporary Art. Previous editions of this bilateral exchange program involved the following participants from France: Ahmet Dogan, Patrick Bogner, Jia Qiu, Dorothee Haller, Yiumsiri Vantanapindu, Stéphane Clor, Elise Alloin. Among Polish artists working in Strasbourg were: Dominika Skutnik, Dorota Walentynowicz, Michał Pecko, Angelika Fojtuch, Grzegorz Stefański, Urszula Kozak, Eliza Proszczuk. Simultaneously to Helene Thiennot’s residency in Gdansk, Julita Wojcik is developing a project in Strasbourg. The subject of the residency exchange is analysis of the city and its forms of transformation, using projects conducted in the public space or with local participants.
Hélène Thiennot – born in 1988 in the Paris region, lives and works in Schiltigheim in Alsace. Graduated from the Ecole des Beaux-Arts of Epinal (ESAL – Epinal, France) in 2011 and the Ecole des Beaux-Arts of Metz (ESAL – Metz, France) in 2013 – during that time she began to experiment with photography. She was selected for the La Chambre gallery’s Perspectives program in Strasbourg in January 2017 and participates in several exhibitions between Paris, Strasbourg, Meisenthal, Unac and Metz. Thiennot works as a visual artist, exploring mediums such as: drawing, installation, editing, engraving, which enrich her practice centered on argentic photography. Through these different techniques, she seeks the materiality of the photographic image and its ability to capture a moment. Her interests lie in the search for traces and memory, reffering to Roland Barthes. Through the image, she intends to find the «spectre réel» in the intimate or collective landscape, believing that our environment is an extension of ourselves, which holds innumerable signs of our past in itself. During the residency in LAZNIA CCA, Thiennot works with the matter of the city of Gdansk in differents aspects, through three projects:
Mnémosyne
Mnemosyne – Greek goddess of memory, aroused to the art historian Aby Warburg the practice that resulted in his famous work Mnemosyne Atlas. His method sought to produce quasi-physical comparisons of juxtaposed images from various horizons, ranging from classical Renaissance to Hopi Indians and advertising of his time.
- This series is inspired by these collections of fragments. It is in perpetual expansion, corresponding to my photographic practice which, over time, is enriched. In a way, it is an image of my own memory: memories sometimes absent, disordered, forgotten, latent. The viewer has to bend down to read these tiny photographs and try to link them like a large mosaic of half-opened windows on the intimacy of my memories. Here, I work on the Polish part of the project – says Thiennot.
Mnemosyne – Greek goddess of memory, aroused to the art historian Aby Warburg the practice that resulted in his famous work Mnemosyne Atlas. His method sought to produce quasi-physical comparisons of juxtaposed images from various horizons, ranging from classical Renaissance to Hopi Indians and advertising of his time.
- This series is inspired by these collections of fragments. It is in perpetual expansion, corresponding to my photographic practice which, over time, is enriched. In a way, it is an image of my own memory: memories sometimes absent, disordered, forgotten, latent. The viewer has to bend down to read these tiny photographs and try to link them like a large mosaic of half-opened windows on the intimacy of my memories. Here, I work on the Polish part of the project – says Thiennot.
Paysages-poussière (dust landscapes)
This project as began in 2013 with the first drawings and was recently re-opened on the occasion of this residency. Thiennot uses local dust to create imaginary landscapes, inspired by real landscapes on the spot. The dust is a strong symbolic representation: it is the last material step of things before their total disappearence. Nowadays, the ecological situation becomes extremely serious and tends to destroy our planet, our landscapes and ourselves because of our way of life. All the pictures/views we know will eventually change or disappaer to become dust.
- When I arrived to LAZNIA CCA for a residency, I noticed that black dust settling on my desk, every time I opened the window. This dust, carried by the wind comes from the thermal power station of the city. So I decided to collect it and work with it to create this new series of « paysages-poussière » – says the artist about her work.
This project as began in 2013 with the first drawings and was recently re-opened on the occasion of this residency. Thiennot uses local dust to create imaginary landscapes, inspired by real landscapes on the spot. The dust is a strong symbolic representation: it is the last material step of things before their total disappearence. Nowadays, the ecological situation becomes extremely serious and tends to destroy our planet, our landscapes and ourselves because of our way of life. All the pictures/views we know will eventually change or disappaer to become dust.
- When I arrived to LAZNIA CCA for a residency, I noticed that black dust settling on my desk, every time I opened the window. This dust, carried by the wind comes from the thermal power station of the city. So I decided to collect it and work with it to create this new series of « paysages-poussière » – says the artist about her work.
Work in progress (untitled)
This photographic project is a specific work about Gdansk and its history. Thiennot was walking through the city to catch details and traces with her camera. She has collected some material elements, specificly fragments of red bricks.
- This particular material is a representative of the classical constructions in Gdansk and represents for me a sort of testimony of the past. I have chosed to work with it because the recent history of the city is closely linked to its destruction and reconstruction. I want to speak about the fragmentation of the city through its buildings and wounded places, because the stone – as a body is a silent witness to the changes of time past - mentiones Thiennot.
This photographic project is a specific work about Gdansk and its history. Thiennot was walking through the city to catch details and traces with her camera. She has collected some material elements, specificly fragments of red bricks.
- This particular material is a representative of the classical constructions in Gdansk and represents for me a sort of testimony of the past. I have chosed to work with it because the recent history of the city is closely linked to its destruction and reconstruction. I want to speak about the fragmentation of the city through its buildings and wounded places, because the stone – as a body is a silent witness to the changes of time past - mentiones Thiennot.
To be continued...
BIP