An Interview with Etienne Bailleul

Q + A

We are delighted to share the work of French Artist Etienne Bailleul.
His sculptural woodwork is a welcomed addition to Flow Gallery.

Bailleul in his studio, photo by Elodie Villalon

"    I'm fascinated by nature and influenced by organic shapes, plant biology, and the fragile balance of nature, I create delicate pieces between sculpture and function   "

- Etienne Bailleul

Where are you currently based?

 
I’m a sculptor and designer living and working in Lower-Normandy, France. As a self-taught woodworker, my approach is exploratory and evolves with my skills and my knowledge of the material.
 
 
What is your approach to the wood-carving process?
 
From sourcing the wood to the final object, each piece is the achievement of a slow process. Taking time in the process is really important for me. It's a matter of respect for wood, my own rhythm and understanding of the material. I always keep in mind the living being behind the material and this relationship to time and growth. That's why I like to spend as much time as possible with my pieces in progress. A piece of wood in my workshop is both a trace of the past and something in the making, a particular sensitive moment when the material tends towards another state.
 
 
How does nature and the organic material you work with inspire you?
 
Fascinated by nature and influenced by organic shapes, plant biology, and the fragile balance of nature, I create delicate pieces between sculpture and function. Concerned with sustainability, I only use locally sourced wood and work mostly with hand tools. After millions of years at our side, trees stay mysterious, strange, and beautiful. They have played a considerable role in the evolution of human beings, and we wouldn't be here without them. It’s this connection through the ages that makes the act of carving wood so much more meaningful and deeply powerful for me. 
 
 
Are there particular plant forms that you are drawn to? Why?
 
I use powerful and delicate shapes to express the beauty and the fragility of nature. I’m mostly inspired by plants – simple organisms that are extremely durable and resilient. Always adapting, evolving, using a diversity of incredible mechanisms to multiply – all of this with elegance. Flowers are a great example because the delicate petals hide an ingenious and very effective way to expand, attracting pollinators with beauty in different ways. It is life, coming from an extraordinarily delicate, fragile and ephemeral organ. This is not vulnerability, but strength. 
 
 
How do you explore form and surface in your work?
 
Curves are omnipresent in my work: they represent the flow of time, change and the movements of matter, and seek to express the softness of organic lines. The textures on my pieces represents the complexity inherent in each thing composing our world, and the characteristic of everything being composed of billions of particles. This is my way of trying, in some way, to understand this world and the essence of things. The surface, now enlivened, plays with the light, and also reflects my own sensibility.