I started making charred books in 1980. Why did I burn some books? I have often had to answer this question and the harsh criticism of these series of my work. For me, this is an idea like any other. My mother once told me the story of my father's first and only book. It burned in the fire just before it was distributed in bookstores. As a child, I witnessed this moment, but the memory of it has not remained in me. My mother raised the curtain on what had happened, and I knew that this event was sleeping somewhere in my brain.
My charred books owe their existence to the flame. They are created and modulated by him, by his caress. This is a synthesis of my childhood memories, the pages are darkened, but the words are there. My memory too.
These books have become a symbol of memory.
I dedicate them to my father.
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From the mid-1960s, she settled in Paris, where she began actively exhibiting in several prominent galleries and working on public space projects across France.
In the 1970s, she began collaborating with Alain Audin at the Claude Emery Gallery in Paris. This led to her meeting Takesada Matsutani, an artist associated with the Gutai movement, who introduced her to Japanese culture. Through Matsutani, she also met Sadaharu Horio — another key figure of Gutai — with whom she frequently exhibited in Japan. Over time, she developed a strong and lasting connection with contemporary Japanese art, showcasing her works in cities such as Kobe, Kyoto, Osaka, and Nishinomiya.
Her artistic practice is rooted in spontaneity and the pursuit of new forms. She works with a wide range of materials — paper, papier-mâché, resin, rubber, lead, cast aluminum, and bronze — which allow her to express fluid, liberated gestures that unite natural elements with the complexity of her chosen media. Drawing from her inner world, she creates a new language of organic, nature-inspired forms, woven into a process of instantaneous creation. Her entirely unrestrained movement and thought give rise to profoundly energetic and expressive art.
Website: bistraction.wordpress.com