Moscow Kaleidoscope 1.0 French Embassy in Moscow
Two idea behind this art project: The first was to see how two artists working on the same topic, Moscow, can have different visions, different treatment of the information they receive. My Grandfather Jean Deville was quite a famous engraver of the 20th century. He came to Moscow, fascinated by Russia and the Soviet Union, to see the military parades of November 1961. He made a series of pictures, slides. Moscow certainly inspired him in his engraving work which followed his journey. We have seen the same things but in a radically opposite context in 50 years time, as in a kaleidoscope where we see an image created by small crystals, but if we move a millimeter the image and its interpretation is other.
The second inspiration for creating this installation is very personal for me. It is a question of reflecting on what an artist can transmit from his work only through his work. It's about writing an imaginary family story in pictures, to create a filigree link between this grandfather whom I never knew and me, and between two artists, a great engraver and me his granddaughter, just starting my artistic career. I tamed his works, making them mine because as you see, I used his photos from 1961, and have remodeled them both as an engraver would do and completely in my own way as well. And I showed him my work, placing myself under his benevolent gaze.
