We had the opportunity to speak with Robin Gaudillat, 25 years old. Holder of the Rotary Club prize in 2019 and 9th at the Rankart 2020 competition, the young man touches everything, develops in the manufacture of sculptures and the realization of paintings and performances. With his status as an artist, his creations challenge and we wanted to know more about him and his work.
Theme: NATURE AND ATTACHMENT TO SOURCES
Originally from Dordogne, Robin is very attached to his birthplace. In his productions, we find the influence of his family and the Périgord. He involves his friends, who assist him in some of his projects, Silvere Hilsz and Ferran L'Homond! Still others are often depicted in his paintings. He also performs traditional Perigord meals, " Meals in everyday life are a place of sharing ".
Robin, more than one string to his bow
He represents his native land through the use of materials of natural origin (earth, stone, ice, wood, etc.) with which he makes sculptures. They are often for practical purposes, such as an insect hotel or a water filter of its design! In respect of this nature, his projects have an ecological scope, and he denounces the global crisis, such as melting ice, water pollution, overproduction… To support this commitment, the young artist also uses recycled materials.
There are also political messages, with a painting representing police violence, famine. Or a sculpture denouncing the closure of certain establishments due to the health crisis, such as bars/restaurants, as well as theaters and cinemas. This last work, The Ostrich Politics , hit the nail on the head. It provoked many reactions and a lot of sharing on the networks.
How did your artistic adventure begin?
It started very young, I spent my time drawing. I was very calm, I could be left in a corner and I kept busy without problem. In my family, my great-grandfather Roger Tremel was an orientalist painter in Morocco. I had been immersed in his paintings since childhood, exhibited in the house.
Oil on canvas, Roger Tremel
In the end, two paths were offered to me, sport or the visual arts! And I made a choice.
What inspires you?
I am passionate about artists who denounce the evils of their time. Like Courbet who depicts life in general, the everyday world. He lives in the present in a world of his own. He represents his universe by painting genre scenes. It illustrates poverty, misery, but also hunting or agricultural scenes. Or Banksy who denounces the evils of a more current society. I like people who are rooted in their time. That's really what interests me about art, these people who represent what they saw/see, what they lived/lived.
About your art, can you tell us more?
In high school, I began to work on this issue of denunciation, to deliver a meaningful, committed message. In college it developed, my subjects were always related to nature, a truly humanistic side, centered on man and his environment, his society.
Then it materialized from the master's degree. I did a thesis on "the challenge of art towards necessities, a return to the sources". This subject is related to my region, the Périgord! Where life is good and where there is an atmosphere of sharing, social bond, exchange, and benevolence. That's what I try to bring out in my work.
What are your artistic fields?
I have two practices: painting, and a more plastic field ie sculptures, photography, installation, video.
Those are two things that I distinguish. I try to link them with a subject but they are very differentiated for me, I can not make an exhibition with my paintings and my installations.
What do you like best about painting/sculpting?
It's totally different the relationship I have when I paint and when I make productions.
For painting: I'm at home, it's a need, an impulse and usually when I sit down I do it all day. I put music in the background and I'm good, all alone my canvas and me. I think of a lot of things I could do, it's really a moment where I do a little retrospective on myself! (laughs) It allows me to escape, it's almost therapeutic.
For sculpture: When I make a production it's because I have an idea and I have to do it as soon as possible. It must materialize, the idea must be palpable and alive. I like touching, assembling, twisting things, etc…
But if I do both, it's because I love one as much as the other! (smiles)
What did your artistic training bring to you?
It's really formative. Even with a potential talent, or a creative soul, you have to develop thoroughly. If I had not done a bachelor's and a master's degree I would not have developed my research at the end, nor had all these artistic references.
When you leave high school, college opens doors that make you touch a little bit of everything. It allows you to find yourself through the different options such as painting, scenography, design, photos,… Only, the university does not necessarily develop the commercial side of the artist. In this environment, it is important to have contacts, a network.
At first I was afraid of the opportunities of art, that it was only a passion and in the end it asserted itself thanks to the university. Good thing I went there!
Who do you want to challenge with your work?
It is an art that can be said to be social. I try to do my bit, and do my part as an artist. I want to reflect the excesses of society, I have this need and this desire. It involves being as general as possible, with themes that are for everyone. Subjects that touch, and that address the human.
What is the role/power of art?
Art, I've always said that it has the power to change the world, absolutely! (laughs) Already to change consciences, to mirror to see what is going well and what is not. Create discomfort, make people react. Have a click and develop this sensitive part that is in each of us. I love art when it's accessible. The one that touches me the most, the most striking are themes in which everyone can recognize themselves. Conversely, I don't like art that is too egocentric, it's not at all a frame in which I identify.
Is art a part of yourself?
Yes, totally. It's 100%, the fact that I associate it with my life in Périgord, with what I see every day, read, etc… It reflects my personality, I am touched by what people experience on a daily basis. I am very sensitive to my environment, news etc … That's why my art is a little simplified, it must also be accessible. You don't have to know me to understand. It does not target an expert audience, it tries to be on this border between what I call "muggles" and those of the artistic field! (laughs)
I make art for people.
Are you a perfectionist?
No, I don't think so, I'm balanced, a bit in between. I like my art to be understood, that's the most important thing.
What do you want to try?
I would love to learn welding sculpture . Trades that work wood, iron, arts and crafts. Doing things with my hands. It is very important for me this work of the hand.
I noticed this by comparing it with prehistoric men. When they lived in the wild and had to feed, shelter, hunt/fish themselves. At that time, the hand was really a tool with know-how. We wanted to do an experiment with a friend in film school who follows me in a lot of my projects. Originally it was supposed to be a week of survival at the water's edge in a wild corner of the Dordogne, it didn't last a day! (laughs) The goal was to create a habitat, feed etc … And I realized that I didn't know how to do anything, not even fire! I still managed a few harvests.
The conclusion was really the loss of know-how. We lost this tool by becoming dependent on today's technology. I find that we are disconnected from nature and it's frustrating because I have this desire to change. A desire for self-sufficiency and to live in a more minimalist way. That is the basis.
What are your ambitions for the future?
I try to propose solutions! It would be to re-establish a relationship between man and nature, to create a more sensitive art. An ecological art, in and with nature. A bit like land-artists, and especially eco-artists. These are movements in the heart of nature, anti-overproduction. I want to tend towards a poorer art, which requires little financial means but also produces little waste; production with a low carbon impact, recycling in manufacturing, gleaning materials, use of natural pigments.
I experiment a lot, even if it doesn't work every time! (laughs) It's hard and it's very contradictory with my lifestyle, I've never missed in my family. That's why it's quite contradictory this desire to want simple things, to favor a more responsible lifestyle. To exceed my comfort for sobriety.
About this sculpture:
It's called Sanctuary , it's an insect hotel, created in the same way as Jason de Caires Taylor who inspires me a lot. Its objective is to promote and restore underwater biodiversity. Its natural concrete sculptures plunged underwater make it possible to recreate an ecosystem that has been destroyed.
On the same principle, Sanctuary is a habitat for pollinating insects, to preserve them, because they are essential to our survival. It is a micro ecosystem, a specific habitat for ladybugs, etc. with food. The idea is to make several to insert them into parks, in order to promote biodiversity!
Your sculpture in the center of Bordeaux, entitled The politics of the ostrich:
It was a first to go to the streets and impose my vision, offering it to the spectator who no longer has the opportunity to go to museums. So it was a way for me to go directly to confront the opinion of the spectators.
What pushed me to make this sculpture is to see certain commercial areas being privileged to the detriment of others such as restoration, and especially culture (theaters, cinemas, museums, concert halls, etc …). I think it's unfair that culture is sacrificed. The only entertainment allowed in the end is consumption. To be without culture is death.
With Robin, returning to our roots is a necessity, due to the ecological upheaval, to the crises we are going through. That's why he wants to denounce and find solutions, but also to return to the simple things in life. The young man advocates sobriety, meetings, and sharing. Do not hesitate to follow the achievements of this young artist, who is part of a very current practice, turned towards the future.
Robin Gaudillat's website, Instagram: @gaudi.arts
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