Perrine Le Dreff - Artist Statement

“The human body fascinates me; how well it works on its own (most of the time), how it endures and recovers, but especially how well it hosts our souls.
It is also fascinating to notice the impact of being surrounded by other bodies in the same space. Coordinating our breath (un)consciously, changing our posture and gestures, looking to get closer, to touch, to connect, or on the contrary, to keep a distance.

Life drawing has helped me understand how our bodies are wonderful, perfect in their own way, and also capable of expressing so much more than we think, especially when words are stuck inside it.

Sculpting figures on clay brings me a step further. It is like deeping into those emotions completely.

You have to work on so many muscles to make it that bigger 3-D picture. To do so you have to understand the physical aspect of the body itself, but also the intention behind each muscle tension, positioning, point of support.

It is like a process to listen carefully to what I am seeing. It takes time, observation, care and focus.

Probably, this attention is exactly what all human bodies need.”