Force d'âme, 2023

Podkol  

Self-taught, I live between Paris and the Charente Maritime region where my studio is located. All my creations are made from pieces of poster, glued to a canvas frame. Acrylic paint can be added to enhance the overall effect.

"The street is full of multiple visual elements that change on a daily basis. These posters are a reflection of our society, sometimes making us smile, ponder or wonder. They announce the color and atmosphere of our times. They bear witness to our world, with its revolts, contradictions and excesses, but also its passions, commitments and pleasures. Poster paper has an unsuspected richness. With its colors, images, typography and textures, it is a primary material of great diversity. Day after day, the passage of time takes its toll, as posters overlap, merge, transform, decontextualize and fade... 

I spend a lot of time walking the streets, searching for and collecting these posters. Recovering them torn, worn or fragmented, I combine them according to my inspiration, juxtaposing elements to give them a new meaning. My collages on canvas come to life in my studio in the form of paintings, and become the expression of a moment in a free artistic process. The observer then becomes the witness to his or her own story."