RECIPROCITY
Between the artist, his imagination, his art and you
Reciprocity necessarily speaks to me since I was a nurse before becoming a visual artist. There is no care without reciprocity between caregiver and patient. But finally, this bilateral exchange is also easily found in art, because the memory and the personal history of an artist often makes his works as an outlet, or a modern therapy.
The primary intention of an artist is to materialize a thought, an idea, a memory image or something of its own or that it has appropriated. It’s the « first » reciprocity, between the artist and the object of his thought. In a second time, the artist also seeks to share his art and his vision of the world, to live his work further than in his workshop, otherwise what is the goal to reveal to the public ? It’s the « second » reciprocity. What a fear to be judged or misunderstood on a work that tells a part of us, such as this frequent dream that many children had, as to be naked in school. It takes a certain form of courage and self-reliance to succeed and to accept this second reciprocity.
If I started my speech by describing myself mainly as a contemporary jeweler, I am also a visual artist and creator of wearable art. Finally, no matter what I am, I am all that at once, but what interests me in jewelry is its portability. It is worn as an adornment, as an ornament, as a commitment, and its symbolism is often highly codified. But for me, a jewel is more than that. It can take another meaning, as a symbol, a message. We should imagine wearing it as a burden on his shoulders, and there, a cannonball in his ankle can’t be turned into jewel? In reality, what is the exact definition of the jewel? In all times and with each people, everyone has adopted a definition and a meaning of it. Today, I take mine, and decide to break codes and conventions of classical jewelry.
My « jewels » are not adornment. They are not ornament or symbol of commitment. They are strong, powerful, they are a message, a shout in the night, a materialized deliverance, even a fuzzy worry betrayed by the material. And when the time of the second reciprocity has come, the « confrontation » with the public, I try to touch the person in the heart, to make him feel emotions, and no matter whether they are positive or negative, because if this is the case, reciprocity has worked.
In this sense, it is more than my energy print that I transmit to my creations, it’s a part of me, my thoughts, my personal visions of the world, of my story. I try to stimulate the senses, and above all, beyond the visual, one of the most important for me, the touch. It’s for this reason that I explore the material, and that the choice of it is never trivial. They must give me a strong tactile and symbolic experience, to me, the creator, but also to the public who will be able to test their tactile sense with my works. For me, exchange and experience are paramount. To complete the hustle and bustle of the senses, I always make a text related to the collection or piece. It is an integral part of the collection, and serves both as an explanation for my works, also as an emotional agitator. Reciprocity is therefore at the heart of my concerns in my creations.
Macha Poirier