Cyrille André — Case à palabres — Pièce Unique Gallery — Exhibition — Slash Paris

Past: May 23 → September 22, 2013

Cyrille André was at first known for the sculptures he made carving tree trunks with the chain saw. Often inspired by the social behavior, he uses the animal or monumental metaphor to treat these subjects. After the outdoor exhibition which the City of Metz dedicated him during summer 2012 at the Botanical garden, the Convent of Récollets and the Arsenal, for his fourth personal exhibition at Galerie Pièce Unique, Cyrille André stages a set of hybrid figures consisted of human bodies decorated with animal heads. These sculptures, of various sizes in polyester resin, bronze or aluminum, have a dialogue between them and invite us to do so.

By associating the animal form with the human figure, Cyrille André enriches it with myths, faiths and symbols linked to animals through both our collective and individual imaginations. On every continent and in most cultures we find traditions which refer to this “anthropozoomorphist ” hybridization.

Since the IV millennium, Egyptians represented their divinities by associating animal parts with the human body. This practice allowed to move men closer to gods and to overtake the human condition. The same thing happens in Africa where the bearing of zoomorphic masks is still of current events in numerous ritual ceremonies. These masks are the representation of the dominant characteristics of the represented animals and they mostly allow to communicate with the spirits.

Here, it is not about mask. These animal heads are a part of these human bodies. The whole figures are inhabited by their bestiality.