Camille Goujon

My work is rooted in observation. Energy, landscape, the origin of the world, and anthropomorphism are recurrent themes, which I humorously model, distort, and transform through drawing, sculpture or film.

Before this experience, I essentially used to work on the traces people leave on the landscape. I initially found it harrowing to be immersed in this untamed environment, as the elements lashed out at me. It was no longer the human footprint on the landscape that was at stake, but the imprint the landscape was leaving on me.

I was so isolated I ended up entering in dialogue with the elements. The energy of nature brought me back to the energy I used to see in industrial landscapes. The sea was an erotic landscape, the lighthouses were erect phalluses, the cliffs, moist vaginas, and then there was the to-and-fro of the surf, which seemed in a state of perpetual pleasure…

As creativity took the place of anxiety, I produced hundreds of drawings. Evoking the origins of life, the lexis of the sea inspired me to play with words and produce punning images which helped me to “turn the tide” and “sea” the silly side of things, giving rise to cartoons.

All intense experiences leave traces… “Nothing is lost, nothing is created, everything is transformed”. One stormy day, I created drawings by letting ink run along the external surfaces of the window panes of the Sémaphore. Ephemeral landscapes took shape as the rain and wind made the ink ripple. I have recreated this technique in my studio. At the moment, I am painting over the surface of a vertical pane of glass behind which is lit from behind by a light box I built. I take a photo each time I add any matter to it, or erase anything. Taken in succession, these fixed images create animated paintings.

Since my immersion in this “mobisle” landscape, I haven’t stopped experimenting with the infinite variety of animated film techniques. Just as waves follow one another, are born and then disappear, each image fades away only to give rise to a new one. As these incomplete images follow one another, the overall effect of their vanishing acts is to evoke a form of temporality, of narration, which brings the drawings alive.