"I find myself missing the 'artisanal' and manual approach of my craft. This is why collage, a technique combining cutting, assembling, and reflection on material and color... imposes itself on me through its meditative power."
CAROLINE GOUILLAUD
CAROLINE GOUILLAUD
Graphic and visual artist, Leucate (11)
The artist tells us how, after a career as a textile designer, she decided to refocus on a more "artisanal" and manual practice: collage then imposed itself upon her
Tell us your story, how did you find your vocation?
After studying applied arts, I chose the path of textile design for about a decade. Following this experience, I turned toward graphic design in a more general sense.
Then, I began to miss the "craft" and manual approach of my work. That is why collage, a technique combining cutting, assembling, and reflection on material and color, imposed itself upon me through its meditative power.
How would you describe your style and your artistic approach in a few words?
The search for the right image, the care taken in cutting, and the combination of colors make each
moment of creation unique. It is a work of composition.
What themes or subjects inspire you the most in your work?
Women, travel, and the sweetness of nostalgia are my favorite themes.
How do you work?
I work in my light-filled studio-office, surrounded by a ton of magazines, old letters, fabrics, and other papers with unique textures or colors.
Do you have a particular technique, a specific know-how? Without revealing all your secrets, have you developed your own methods and techniques?
My technique develops a little more every day, but I would say that the patience required for cutting and a love for meticulous activities are a skill in themselves.
Tell us about your daily life, your constraints, your joys, your successes…
Everyday life is about research and curiosity. The constraints... knowing how to let myself be guided by the images that the materials I have at my disposal offer me, rather than trying to force a specific image. The joys and successes, like for any creative, are seeing in someone's eyes that one of my collages touches them.
