Interview
Ariane Mariot
Born in 1972, Ariane Mariot is a Swiss visual artist who lives and works in Les Posses-sur-Bex. After a career in town planning, the web and communications, she decided to study art, something she had always wanted to do. She obtained a bachelor’s degree in visual arts in Paris, then a master’s degree in contemporary visual practices in Montpellier, before deciding to train in weaving and ceramics. She received her master's degree in Information and Communication Sciences and Technologies, Multimedia as well. She is the recipient of the certificate of artistic merit from the Luxembourg Art Prize. A multi-talented artist, she draws on a range of other artistic techniques, from photography to jewellery. Today, she oscillates between her artistic activity and her fasciatherapy practice, activities in which she finds her balance.
What is your background and how did you start your journey in the art world?
“I was born in Geneva in 1972 and, as far as I can remember, I've always created, drawn and photographed. When I was a teenager, I took lessons in academic drawing and painting with the Geneva painter Paul Hussy. It was with him that I became aware of colour as an artistic expression. I wanted to be a professional artist, but at the time life decided otherwise. After a career in urban design, the web and communications, I decided to study art, something I'd always wanted to do. I got my bachelor's degree in plastic arts at La Sorbonne (Paris), then a master's degree in contemporary plastic practices in Montpellier, then trained in weaving and contemporary ceramics in Switzerland. I now live and work in Les Posses-sur-Bex, a hamlet 1,000 metres above sea level in the Swiss Alps, because I need a lot of peace and quiet to create and recharge my batteries. I divide my professional life between my artist studio and my fasciatherapist practice, which allows me to find a balance.”
What inspires you?
“Nature inspires me a great deal, particularly the infinite colours it offers and its organic forms. I also love observing the infinitely small, from insects in the fields to cells in the human body. I do a lot of nature walks around my studio and I often bring back 'natural treasures' that influence my work.”
What themes do you pursue? Is there an underlying message in your work?
“My artistic work explores the following areas: eco spirituality, mother earth, women, the female body, the cell, procreation, body tissues (fascias), nature and environmental protection. I like to recycle materials for my creations, with the aim of making art with what could end up in the rubbish bin, and I favour the use of natural materials, such as wool and ceramics. I collect wool from people who want to part with their stock, or I buy fleeces from breeders in my region, which I then spin by hand. The message I want to get across through my work is that you can make art with materials that are no longer useful in our hyper-consuming society. For example, I created a work using recycled plastic to talk about the 7th continent, made up of plastic waste in the North Pacific. I'm also very moved by the protection of women and nature, ecofeminism.”
“The message I want to get across through my work is that you can make art with materials that are no longer useful in our hyper-consuming society.”
How would you describe your work?
“I do contemporary weaving. I don't use a conventional loom so that I can escape the conventions of this very craft. I have learnt several craft techniques that I now use to make my own contemporary art. I'm part of the Slow Art movement, because I take a lot of time to create a piece of work. It's a labour of love. I like to mix materials that aren't meant to be together.”
Which artists influence you most?
“Giuseppe Penone for his relationship with Nature and the elements. Sheila Hicks for her monumental textile work, which fascinates me.”
What is your creative process like?
“My creative process always begins with the choice of materials I'm going to use and the colours I'm going to bring together. The rest of my creative process is more random when it comes to the form of the work. I never know in advance what it will look like. In the contemporary weaving I do, a lot happens during the act of weaving, the threads bind together and sometimes there are 'accidents' that I accept as creative and aesthetic acts. When I'm creating, I'm in meditation, not reflection, and that's what allows me to recharge my batteries. The name of the work appears to me when it is finished, never before. I feel when a creation is complete, finished, directly in my body as a kind of personal completeness. The gestation period is over and the work can go out into the world to deliver its message.”
What is an artist’s role in society and how do you see that evolving?
“The artist is a showman of shapes, colours, problems, beauty... His interpretation of the world brings a new vision of what surrounds us or what is inside us. He decodes his time in his own way, which is why, in my opinion, there will always be a need for artists to understand the world.”
Have you had any noteworthy exhibitions you'd like to share?
“I'm currently exhibiting a work in Rossinière, a pretty village in the Swiss Alps. The exhibition is called Ressources, art creations, recuperation and nature. You can admire the works along a signposted route through the village. The artists have used natural resources to create works that blend into the landscape, or by giving a second life to recycled materials through upcycling. The work I'm exhibiting is a dyptic created from packaging cardboard and vintage handspun wool. It is on show until 29 October 2023.”
Website: arianemariot.com
Instagram: @arianemariot.art
