Mathilde Fossy
Born in Saint-Denis in 1991, Mathilde Fossy grew up on Reunion Island before leaving her native island to pursue her studies in mainland France. In 2012 she obtained a BTS (BTEC higher National Diploma) in visual communication and in 2014 a higher diploma in applied arts in graphic design at the École Supérieure d'Arts Appliqués de Bourgogne, with a final project on the subject of exile.
She was introduced to silkscreen printing during an internship at the «Atelier du Bourg» and she followed up her passion for printing techniques by completing her training with an advance training course in Sydney in a letterpress printing company: The Distillery.
Fascinated by typography, during the summer of 2016, she took part in the international workshop «Type@Paris» where she created Alain, a typeface inspired by the songs of Alain Peters.
Since 2016, she has been living in Reunion Island where she works as a freelance graphic designer, and in 2018 she presented her first personal exhibition : Slash Colorama Optimistic, a piece of work at the crossroads between contemporary graphic design and plastic art.
Dissipating the mist
Here, Mathilde Fossy proposes an installation inviting the visitors for a walk.
Its starting point is the end of slavery as depicted in the work of Alphonse Garreau. Visitors pass behind the painting both physically and figuratively to discover the other truth of this historical moment: the emancipation of slaves.
Like the leaves of a register, transparent panels bear the names given to the slaves in 1848 and create a route through a symbolic crowd. The installation invites the visitors to wander about, to become of this crowd. Chiseled mirrors reflect the silhouettes or faces of the visitors and project them into the event.
Thus, women, men and children present in the museum mingle with the names on these lists. They take part in the scene and merge into the work as they glance around. Everyone can see oneself and the other one showing threw. Each and everyone becomes part of the installation
The progress among the names also represents a movement from the past to the present in which each one takes once place.
The choice of plexiglass, a transparent material, finally reflects the artist's desire to expose, to bring to light the truth of this event, to clarify the situation.
The surnames, in alphabetical order, are written in black on these panels and form clouds of names. Letter after letter, visitors move forward in this alphabet-heritage. Very dense at the beginning of the route, the characters become thinner and thinner as the walk progresses and let more and more light pass through.
Visitors emerge from the dark clouds of the past and enter a bright, clear present to which they belong.
Constellation association
Mathilde Fossy is a member of the Constellation association to whom the museum has entrusted this exhibition project.
Created in 2012, Constellation is a production workshop based in Saint-Denis that accompanies contemporary artists on Reunion Island.
By encouraging encounters and exchanges, the association contributes to the development of all possible fields of artistic expression by the artists associated with the workshop.
Over the past six years, it has contributed to the organisation of a dozen exhibitions and collaborated with 22 professional artists.
