A Conversation with Marie Marchandise

Series: Movements

Solo Show on view July 25 - August 1, 2021

KP: What is your background? How does it inform your art?

MM: I've graduated with a Master of Arts in English, which was an occasion for me to discover many pieces of literature and art. When I had to analyze the intentions of the authors and artists, the whys and the hows, it enabled me to dig deeper and to fully immerse myself in their processes. This immersion led me to develop and share my interpretations of short stories, novels, and poems, for instance: by depicting the main plots of novels through photographs, by giving a voice to my favorite characters, or by evoking the thematics of a poem. This particular step is still a significant one in my work because that's how I developed an interest in storytelling!

KP: How has your practice evolved over time?

MM: It took me quite a while to say that I was a photographer and an art director. I used to say that "I took photographs." not that I was an artist. This shyness and reluctance had come from the classism and ableism that are very present in the photography industry: when I started to say that I loved photography and that I might have wanted to take an interest in the profession, people from this local industry (from Toulouse, where I live) used to say that I was an amateur because I didn't own a studio, didn't have the best and brand new camera, or that I didn't travel abroad to make shoots in "epic places." These "guidelines" that seemed so compulsory were a huge hurdle to overcome, especially as I didn't and still don't have the means to satisfy this "demand", both physically and financially. So when I started, my practice was devoted to others: I wanted to prove to others that I was capable, that I could do it, by multiplying shoots with different people, by started many projects, by posting a lot on Instagram. I was also so influenced by the "rules" of what makes a good photo, I didn't want to follow my instinct and express myself creatively. This tired me a lot. Now, I feel more at one with myself, I'm not ashamed anymore of my perspective and my practice, of my "voice", if I may say. A few years ago, I would never have mixed printed photographs with pieces of fabric, done handmade collages, took pictures of flipbooks that I had crafted. Besides, I am also not ashamed anymore to say that I need time to conceptualize and conceive. I don't want to multiply art projects at warp speed just for the sake of it. Thanks to your collective, I feel so seen and encouraged to express myself without apprehension and to say that I am an artist! This recognition motivates me to let my practice evolves much more!

KP: What artist inspires your work?

MM: There are many! First of all, Michelle, the fashion designer of this project, and Agnès, the model, are two artists that I admire a lot. Michelle is fully committed to her passion for clothes and dancing. She has found means to express who she is enterprisingly speaking, she is always up to delve into her inventiveness by working with other artists, trying new techniques, and finding new mediums to introduce her vivid imagination to others. Agnès is not only a magnetic model but a person that is always fully involved in the different shoots she participates in, she pays attention to every aspect and detail of the narrative being told, and for her, each shoot is a collaboration (meaning people working together, not meaning free work!), so she finds a balance between her cinematic interpretation and poses and the photograph's and art director's approaches and visions. I’m also very happy to have worked with Hugo Bardin, the hairstylist of that photoshoot, and Océane Susini, the makeup artist. Hugo Bardin is a versatile artist. He proficiently shines on and off camera as a director, scriptwriter, actor, hairstylist, makeup artist, and costume designer. He also performs on stage as a drag queen artist under the name “Paloma.” Telling stories and giving life to complex characters or emotions matter the most to Hugo, he always produces impressive details that make a difference and strike a chord. Océane Susini is an accomplished creative professional who has chosen to express her artistry through makeup and hairdressing. Whatever the context, Océane is motivated by her enthusiasm and eagerness to perform her artistic job. It was an honor to have worked with them. There are very few persons that would have trusted me for such a project. Besides, Rachel Isabel is an artist that inspires me so much. She is a multidisciplinary artist living in London. Her collages are what I love the most concerning her work: she creates portraits blended with landscapes. Each face is completed by panoramas, each composition shows an impressive depth and is thought-provoking regarding the notion of identity, nature, and roots. I admire Rachel's sincerity as much as I love the fineness of her gripping work. She motivated me to spark my imagination and to focus on this project. Eight other artists have considerably inspired or motivated me for this project. I’m more than grateful and happy to know Devri Velazquez (@devrivelazquez), a writer, editor, and model. Devri and I have the same condition: the Takayasu’s arteritis, an orphan disease. When you suffer from an orphan disease, you feel in pain and alone. A lot. I’m still overwhelmed, on a daily basis and on different levels, by so many aspects of my life brought by this condition, yet I will always remember the night I’ve heard Devri talking about her journey on a podcast. Her sentence “I'm telling my story to let you know you can feel comfortable telling yours.” brought me to tears because, without knowing her, I felt seen. I’d always been uncomfortable talking about my chronic illness because I was considered as “weak”, or on the contrary a “superhero” that had to be hyper positive, hyper resilient, all the time, 24/7. Somehow, I was always defined only by it but at the same time, I had to “be strong and not to think about it that much” (to quote what people used to say to me). To sum up, on a personal level, Devri is so important and this personal aspect of my life echoes the pictorial one. I hope she knows that I’m here for her too, that I saw her too, and that I don’t want her to feel alone. Ahmôsis (@fils_du_dragon_) are a visual artist who are working on their brand and I’m speechless by how every bit of their artwork is refined. With them, nothing is left by chance, only by their precision. I think that Ahmôsis are certainly a storyteller because there is always a tale, a legend, or a historic reference behind every creation they produce. And I’m always up to listen to their stories. I admire them, and their willingness to provide a lot of depth to what they bring into existence. It’s important to have an eye for detail. I’m really admirative of such passion, patience, and preciseness. Last autumn, I worked with Ahmôsis on a project named “Autumn elegance”: I took pictures of withered flowers and leaves and they completed my photographs by drawing on them, by creating an actual outfit from the plants’ pictures. I’m forever appreciative of their consideration and that they were down to be part of the project and how they revealed that their imaginativeness had no limits by drawing poetic and impressive outfits! Besides, Mélissa Andrianasolo (@missaandria) a visual artist that also runs a podcast in French dedicated to Black art named “La couleur de l’art” (“The color of art”) has also inspired me a lot. She often shares her illustrations on Instagram: sketched pieces of life, watercolored portraits, bodies, and hands. As she puts it, she connects ideas to feelings and this was exactly my point with my work “Movements”. I love how Mélissa associates memories, sensations, words to what she feels and how she can express herself through her technique. One of her series “Le futur est derrière nous” (“The future is behind us”) left a great mark on me. For her fine technique but also the colors that she used and the shapes she painted. I don’t know if she wanted to picture emotions, feelings, or a sensation, but I felt a state of contentment in what seemed to be a whimsical meditation, to me. Mélissa also shared those words that mean a lot to me, concerning how she works: “I think that time has its own value, in the race to produce content. I don’t want to want to give myself a deadline, because I don’t want to die at the finishing line.” Malaika Astorga (@_flleur) is a visual artist and writer who also co-created and co-runs the website “also cool mag” (an online art magazine and community). She was one of the very few who shared my work with Maya Anna (@mayalabae), a great DJ artist, and we connected very quickly. I love Malaika’s art universe, her portraits are colorful and harmonious and I think that she gets to know people’s personalities and moods really quickly. She definitely knows how to depict them. She is one of the few persons that make me love bright colors, and her universe soothes me, I think that Malaika definitely lets her inner child speaking, or I least she encourages me to do so through her work! When she draws giant characters walking on mountains or balancing on two islands, when she draws someone flying on a bird in the air, I want to be with these characters. There’s something flowing, organic, and genuine in Malaika’s work that stimulates imagination and ease. She is also very vocal about mental health and I’m so thankful for that. Furthermore, George Ka (@georgeka_a) is a singer whose songs I’ve discovered in the past year. I’ve listened to her tracks “Jolies personnes”, “Saigon”, and all her different raps on her Youtube channel during winter, and I experienced great comfort and I felt warm inside when I listened to them. I think that she is a person who knows how to captivate an audience and makes herself know without yelling or shouting but still with such a presence. Her lyrics’ pacing exudes energy in motion, with both soaring and punchy rhymes. The lyrics of her songs are indeed layered lines that seem to embrace each and other in a smooth and melodious flow. She shared with me the lyrics of her song “Mononoke” at a time when I suffered a lot both physically and mentally. This is not a pure coincidence if I did the artwork “Movements” during spring when I spent my winter listening to George Ka’s songs. Laetitia Kitegi (@laetitiakitegi) is a photographer and model who has inspired me from the beginning. When I’ve started as a young and shy photographer, she was one of the only few to have consideration for me. I love how photography is for her a tool to catch certain moments of her life that are imbued with her feelings. It’s as if she knows how to print emotions on paper. For instance, with her Polaroid of a goose (you can see it on her interview with FishEye Magazine), I think that she has caught a poetic instant as if it was from another dimension: the picture is colored in pastel hues, green, pink, and blue, the goose is flapping its wings and you can see the blur movements of them. Laetitia for sure knows how to catch the extraordinary and fascinating moments of life, moments that seem endless and remain there forever. Léa (@artofsheherazade), a talented model, florist, artist, inspires me to believe in myself and dream bigger. Léa is a person whose words are always extremely meaningful to me, her bold and nurturing personality is reflected in what she says and how she behaves, and of course, her artistic inner world that I’m honored to have discovered. Without Léa, I don’t think I would have opened to the world as I did with this work. One of her latest shoots “Occulte” touched me a lot as I felt that Léa let herself go during this particular occasion and the result is spectacular. I know how much soul she puts to work, I know how much art is important to her. It’s always difficult when you make a statement about something that matters to you, when you show a glimpse of your different layers and complexities, of your personality, of what you like. I love how Léa shows that she just wants to be. I wish that all creatives have such occasions and opportunities to express themselves without fear of showing something different to the world. I wish to be more like Léa, less inhibited by my fear of being judged by others. Thérèse (@tcommetherese), who is a singer, is someone that literally carries her listeners to her own planet through her songs, and I’m impressed and influenced by that! However, the trip you make when you discover her universe is an organized and guided itinerary; the musical ride encompasses different rhythmic colors, melodies, and intensities, from the extremely cathartic “T.O.X.I.C” to the anthem for community love “Private Party”, each of Thérèse’s songs is like a chapter of a private diary she shares with her audience. Nonetheless, her music videos are astounding. I remember very precisely the flower bouquet on fire from her “T.O.X.I.C” video. I love how the closeups from her “Skin Hunger” video are like sensual visual ASMR. I think that Thérèse inspires me and influences me because she is an artist free from any label, there is a sort of exhilarating sensation she shares with her audience that is catching.

KP: What messages can viewers take from your body of work?

MM: I wish the persons who discover my work to escape, a little bit. When it happens, I feel so happy, the fact that someone thinks about my work, that it’s useful for someone to think about something else, it makes me so proud! It’s a work that focuses on movements, and motions, two aspects that, of course, imply and produce many different perspectives, analyzes, and impacts on persons. With this work, I had a lot of joy to shape different movements with different mediums, I hope this delight to be visible. I wish viewers to dive into their imagination as much as I did. Something that is not obvious and that you can’t probably feel directly through my work: I worked at my own pace, without any pressure, I worked with people who respected my boundaries, and of course, I respected theirs. Many feelings were mutuals: a feeling of consideration between Michelle, Agnès, Hugo, and Océane, a sort of smoothness and seriousness in how we worked, mutual trustworthiness, and a dedication to achieving this project. I insist on that: I suffer from a lot of intense pain and fatigue due to my condition, I’m definitely a spoonie, so the “no pain no gain” motto is not my guiding principle. I must stay quarantined because of Covid, so I can’t do onsite shoots. It’s Agnès who first talked to me about solutions such as remote shoot apps to continue to create and to work with others, at my own time and convenience. I organized the shoot with her and Michelle, Hugo, and Océane. I felt that I wasn’t a burden for them, I felt understood and trusted. I really wish there were more persons like Agnès, Michelle, Hugo, and Océane (and all the artists I cited previously). I wish all persons suffering from chronic illness to ever meet considerate people like them. I wish artistic opportunities to be fully accessible and adaptable to artists suffering from chronic illness: online, accessible and adaptable work, online, accessible and adaptable internships, online, accessible and adaptable classes and conferences, calls for applications, grants, and of course, exhibitions such as the ones the Doré Art Collective provides! But firstly, I wish to anyone to feel respected, considered, and to have worked in a nonstressful and non-triggering environment such as I did, thanks to Agnès, Michelle, Hugo, and Océane.

KP: Professionally, what’s is your main goal as an artist?

MM : My main goal as an artist is to provide coverage for independent artists. I want to help chronically ill artists, disabled artists, and unrepresented minority artists, by giving them the reins to my Instagram or my blog, by helping them writing press kits or blog posts, translating them to French, by giving them lists of magazines to contact (I already do that, so if someone concerned reads that, please contact me), by recommending brands and by finding jobs and accessible opportunities. Mutual help is one of the tools that can help all of us succeed, I guess.

KP: What was your process with compiling this body of work?

MM: I used the remote photoshoot application “Clos” to take photographs. The objective was to originate abstract compositions from the different photographs that were shot, and then retouched and printed. I wanted to reproduce motion effects: flipbooks, shadows, and superpositions through tracing papers. On the day of the photoshoot, new ideas emerged. We decided to use Michelle’s fabrics in the different collages to add a new layer in the handicraft montages (both metaphorically and literally): she sent me pieces of fabric and I constituted combinations of cut photographs with sewed tulle on them and added pieces of creased cloth on prints. This blending of prints and textiles produces an impression of movement. This art project is in two parts: “Soleil rose” (pink sun) and “Nuage Bleu” (blue cloud). Of course, these are related to the type of natural light that was shinning during the day. “Movements” is also an allusion to the weather, and the changes of times, the movements of a day.

KP: Where can people find you on social media?

MM: Here's my Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chezvouschezmoi/ and my Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/chezvouschezmoi

KP: How do you offer your work for sale?

MM: I only do customized requests and I adapt myself to each demand: size, type of paper and delivery. Each print is in limited edition and signed at the back.

KP: How does it fit in (or not) with the rest of your artwork?

MM: Actually, it doesn't fit with the rest of my artwork and I'm really happy about it, because I think it's a new beginning for me, it's a way of working with different materials that is more suitable for me!

KP: Any additional information you’d like to share?

MM: I would like to dedicate this body of work to my parents, my brothers, my friends Anaïs, Amaia, Flo, China and Chantal, to Aimé Pestel (@aime.pestel), Autiste Queer Le Docu (@autistequeer_le_docu), Morgan.e (@morgan.e_bl) and Rizzo Boring (@rizzo_boring)