Basic HTML Version
ARTISTES /
ARTISTS
27
AFT
|
Which books do you mean?
VJ
|
The books are a pretext to construct a new story. Right now I am in the
process of dissecting a book called
Le grand bateau en fer blanc
. The title
brings to mind both the past and the present. Travel and water are involved,
and that speaks to me. At the same time, it is the story of a human life in this
journey by steel boat. I think it was one of the first steam-powered boats that
could make the crossing. I am telling myself a story within the story between
Europe and the Americas. I am appropriating it and it supplements my own
stories relating to crossings, not necessarily linked to slavery. It may suggest
modern voyages and all the travels of people today in the world.
AFT
|
You often write about your own work. The writing is not mere commentary,
but becomes a subject in itself.
VJ
|
It is the last layer to arrive in this studio-work. But I am always construct-
ing the same thing. Everything I do is a pretext to escape the risk of repeating
myself, which is what I fear most. The idea at the outset was to adopt the
most radical gestures possible to enable what I call “the wandering posture”.
Vue de l’atelier de l’artiste.