Hasta La Ideas

A Parisian artist channels her passion for natural history and evoking the past with a series of unearthly collages

by Isabelle Doal

An archaeologist-turned-anthropologist-turned-artist, Parisian Gaelle Faure uses collage to tell her own version of history. She forages flea markets for antiques and second-hand items, such as old photographs, dolls, dried butterflies and other hidden treasures, which she combines with anonymous letters, postcards and diary entries from old journals in order to give the past new life. Formerly specializing in funeral rituals, Faure’s interest in evoking memories by resurrecting forgotten stories seems a natural fit for the curious creative.

The daughter of sculptors, Faure discovered a passion for uncovering the past through her grandfather, a scientist who used to collect skulls, bones and old academic medical books.

Through a combination of thoughtfully-positioned artifacts placed in frames, her anachronistic microcosms reflect her overall sense of humor. For example she illustrates the literal translation of “rack your brain” which in French translates to “to dig one’s head” with a series of headless images culled from a 20th century magazines.

Faure is currently working on the re-construction of an old photo album, which she found in a flea market. The photographs are taken from the album, scanned and scrambled into a humorous picture, to create what she calls “a poetic omelet.”

Her interest in found objects also extends to furniture like lamps and chairs, which she customizes and sells upon request.

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