Pierre Demin

Since I was very young, I have always drawn monsters. As far back as I can remember, it was the main subject of most of my drawings. Present in all cultures, its different form does not prevent it from being a universal figure, giving substance to the fears and misunderstandings that agitate humanity.

In the same way as the ritual of mimicking the devil's horns with one's hand to protect oneself from bad luck, the representation of monstrosity is a means of repelling what frightens. Sometimes extracted from reality, sometimes from dreams or intuitions, the forms I materialize evoke what for me remains unspeakable, formless. Animality, forests and jungles, omnipresent in my practice, echo the work produced by the unconscious, generating simple forms symbolizing a complex, untamed, wild thought.

The same one that seems to me to animate humanity since the beginning of time.
The masses of papier-mâché poured on the ground thus take on the appearance of a crocodile emerging from the concrete, or a horse caught in a gangue of plaster. These organic drawings and sculptures respond to installations composed of minimal structures, deprived of the elements that made them functional but taking up the standardised dimensions of structures, such as a trampoline or a swing of which only the skeleton remains. The pieces respond to each other in a dialogue that is open to free interpretation.

Certain forms have become recurrent, although the mediums I use vary with each project, and over time, some have taken on a special place.

The exclusive use of poor materials characterises my work. Very often producing from recuperated materials, sometimes borrowed from the building trade, or using techniques linked to construction, or even papier-mâché, commonly seen as an "amateur" practice, the materials metamorphose, taking on the appearance of bone, rock, mud or marble. The pieces almost constitute themselves in a process of destruction/repair, generated by the anguish of an imminent collapse, a catastrophe. Thus the action of the elements, gravity, fire, erasure, or even putrefaction contribute to the constitution of the work.

The urgency to act is manifested in my practice by the urgency to create, impulsively, in fairly short production phases.
This spontaneous practice, an expression of an immediate feeling, constitutes an outlet, a way of questioning this feeling of absurdity which has questioned many artists over the centuries. And thus, by representing my monsters, to draw from the chaos the strength to tame it.