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Nicolas Moussette
Art & Design
PAutres
Rêves
fantastiques
Fantasy dreams
Mondes imaginaires du passé ou du futur, utopies ou dystopies, sont ici mis en scène, pour une invitation au rêve ou à la réflexion sur l'humanité, la divinité, ou une redécouverte des mythes antiques.
Imaginary worlds from the past or the future, utopia or dystopia are here displayed to invite to dreams or to reflect about mankind, divinity and ancient myths.
Réunion - Reunion
aluminium, 1/8 - aluminium
130 x 150 x 120 cm
Réunion est ma première pièce monumentale produite en aluminium. Cette oeuvre est née d'une commande d'un couple de mécènes polonais: un écrivain et une arbitre de conflits commerciaux internationaux.
La sculpture présente deux rochers montagnes habités en leurs sommets par deux fières cités, chacune avec son château, et rejointes entre elles par un pont surplombant un vide vertigineux.
Outre le côté féerique du relief, la sculpture symbolise l'union. Cette union, ici est représentée l'union entre deux populations, n'est pas forcément facile. Elle est même trop souvent conflictuelle. L'heureuse résolution des conflits majeurs résulte ici en la reconstruction d'un pont, d'où le nom de la sculpture, "Réunion". En cette heure de menaces d'éclatement des grands ensembles politiques et les exemples de disruption de la paix mondiale, cette sculpture symbolise le fragile équilibre qu'il faut entretenir pour maintenir une entente durable et mutuellement bénéficiaire à ses membres.
Les rochers montagnes symbolisent la terre, notre habitat commun, qui n'est pas toujours un jardin d'Eden, principalement du fait des agissements humains tendant à sa transformation ou même à sa destruction. Il est déjà difficile de vivre en harmonie avec notre Terre, alors l'union des humains serait un premier gage de pérennité de notre espèce.
Reunion is my first monumental piece, produced out of aluminium.
This piece is born out of an artistic order by a couple of Polish Patrons of the Arts: a writer and a lawyer specialised in commercial arbitration.
The sculpture presents two rocks-mountains inhabited in their heights by two proud cities, each with its castle. The cities are connected through a bridge overlooking a vertiginously high gap.
Beyond this fairy tale like relief, the sculpture symbolises Union. This union - here the one of two populations, is not always easy. It is even too often conflictual. The resolution of conflicts results here in the reconstruction of a bridge that might have been destroyed in the past, hence the name of the sculpture: "Reunion". At this time of threats of fragmentation of political systems and the too many examples of world peace disruption, this sculpture symbolises the fragile balance we need to favorise in order to maintain a durable and mutually beneficial harmony.
The rocks-mountains symbolise the Earth, our common habitat, which is not always a garden of Eden. But this is too often due to the doings of Humans whi tend to transform or even destroy this unique habitat. It is already complicated to live in harmony with our planet, so the union of Humans would be a first token of permanence for the human civilization.
La faille - The Breach (Vyasan & Tamnig)
Terre cuite patinée, pièce originale - Terracotta with patina, original piece.
38 x 20 x 55 cm.
Original en collection particulière, mais des exemplaires, notamment en bronze, sont disponibles sur commande.
The original piece has been acquired, but other examplaries, notably in bronze, are available on order.
The Breach is my first art piece designed in two pieces. These pieces, numbered 2/8, are made by a mixture of hard resin-clay composite material, then tinted, patined and waxed.
Each piece is a huge rock where a town was built at the top. I called them Vyasan and Tamnig recently, as they are part of my mental map of the Addictionville project. But its creation recalls back to 2012, soon after my come back of Bangladesh, one of the flattest countries on earth. When living there I must have secretly longed for high rocks and impressive heights! And here it is... Incredibly high and unseizable strongholds, separate from each other by an uncrossable breach. Still each town has erected strong protective walls if ever the other city becomes a danger... which is, because of the environment, highly hypothetic.
Vyasan is a much more open type of society, as you'll find the walls just facing the breach and Tamnig. Whereas in Tamnig, walls are all around the castle of the Despot, which seems to need protection also from his own population! Each town is organised in a way it does not need any help or products from anywhere else: there is everything necessary for survival, and even a better living than expected, if you notice fine buildings, market places, and crops' fields. Here I just marvel at the capacity of humans to survive in sometimes very harsh environments. If we succeeded also in excelling in better relationships between humans, it would be even a greater life on earth...
Chapelle sur roc - Chapel on a rock
Terre cuite émaillée, pièce originale - Glazed terracotta, original piece.
30 x 20 x 32,5 cm.
Disponible en original ou en bronze. Available as terracotta original, or in bronze on order.
Chapel on a Rock is one of my first polychrome enamel sculptures. I just love the enamel red hues behind the dark brown colour of the rock.
The theme evoked is surely the need for calm and rest, the one you need for example for prayer. Chapel on a rock is probably the modest dwelling - chapel of a hermit who secluded himself from the rest of the world to be as close as God as he possibly could. Hence the position of the chapel at the highest possible point of this impressive rock overlooking a forest on one side, and a river on the other. A very impressive mountain landscape for a spectacular retreat of extraordinary humans who crave a simple and saint life. I am just at owe at those forefathers of ours who gave their entire life in the worship of the Lord, not mentioning the amount of energy just to build a chapel on the top of this rock!
Mankind is capable of the most beautiful deeds. It is reassuring and giving peace to the mind and soul. This is why this piece is one of my favorites, as it pleases me deep inside.
Chapelle sur roc - Chapel on a rock
Bronze 1/8
30 x 20 x 32,5 cm.
Chapel on a Rock is one of my first bronze sculptures. It is made at the same size of the original in ceramic.
The theme evoked is surely the need for calm and rest, the one you need for example for prayer. Chapel on a rock is probably the modest dwelling - chapel of a hermit who secluded himself from the rest of the world to be as close as God as he possibly could. Hence the position of the chapel at the highest possible point of this impressive rock overlooking a forest on one side, and a river on the other. A very impressive mountain landscape for a spectacular retreat of extraordinary humans who crave a simple and saint life. I am just at owe at those forefathers of ours who gave their entire life in the worship of the Lord, not mentioning the amount of energy just to build a chapel on the top of this rock!
Mankind is capable of the most beautiful deeds. It is reassuring and giving peace to the mind and soul. This is why this piece is one of my favorites, as it pleases me deep inside.
Tour sur rocher marin - Tower on a sea rock
Terre cuite émaillée, pièce unique - Glazed terracotta, unique piece.
30 x 23 x 33 cm.
This art piece represents a huge rock by the sea shore, covered on its top by a small tower. The piece is all enameled, but the tower and also the sand at the base of the rock, giving a nice contrast and highlighting the enameled parts.
Tower on a Sea Rock sublimates the idea of isolation from the world. It also symbolises protection. The tower is probably the most advanced outpost of a powerful state by the sea, to guard the country from hypothetic invasions.
Seing the impressive rock itself, one can question the real utility of a tower on top, unless it is to house a small garrison of soldiers and spotters.
To make a link with other parts of my artistic universe, I would possibly place it by the Zatracenie Gulf in the Grand-Duchy of Exartisi to check its borders with the Great Principality of Poisonas and the Tsarstan of Pristrasyestan, in my Olethros map (Addictionville project).
Château imaginaire - Imaginary Castle
Terre cuite patinée, pièce originale - Terracotta with patina.
12,5 x 10 x 19,5 cm.
Original en collection particulière, mais d'autres exemplaires, notamment en bronze, seront disponibles sur commande.
The original piece has already been acquired, but other examplaries, notably in bronze, will be available on order.
This Imaginary Castle belongs in the fantasy world of fairy tales. It begins from the base by a rock progressively carved into a castle with various levels and buildings. All is kept within a rectangular shape, as this sculpture was in fact carved out of a block of clay, a technique I've used at my very beginnings of clay sculpture, perfect for creating small scale and well proportioned pieces.
The ceramic was just patined and waxed, to give it this nice and deep earthern-wooden colour.
I just love this imaginary castle, one of my first creations, as it vehiculates many rememberances of my childhood universe populated with courageous knights defeating fierce dragons in extraordinary castles to save beautiful princesses who had received a spell from bad fairies... People in ancient legendary times had quite busy days as we compare with our daily lifes today...
Hakum - Cité fortifiée imaginaire - Imaginary Fortified City
Terre cuite patinée, pièce originale - Terracotta with patina.
45 x 45 x 40 cm.
This imaginary fortified city shows a very peculiar setting: a huge central rock with buildings bulging out of it a bit like cactus arms. This rock is like a column of stone planted into an enormous pit of a volcano. Around the pit lies a mountain with a path going downwards all around, through the trees.
It is a real fantastic landscape, with an even more fantastic town, cut from the outside world. Effectively, there is no bridge between the edge of the pit where the path ends and the entrance of the city, a hole dug into the rock.
The city itself is a world apart, with many flights of steps, corners, courtyards, secondary streets...
I called this imaginary fortified city also Hakum, as it is part of my Addictionville project, within which it is the capital city of the Lordship of Rhith, one of the vassal states of Olethros tyrany (see Olethros map).
This art piece's theme is surely about seclusion, protection. It is in fact about apartheid, this great fear of the outside world and the fear of change. Humans must have this tendency inborn, in constant fight with the constant change that characterises the world and life.
So, no matter how harmonious and interesting the city might look like, it is a very dystopic environment of closing its communities from the outside world. The leaders of the communities might have wanted to create their paradise there, their utopia, but as it was built on the need to seclude yourself from the outside world, this reflex induces that most probably life there might also be hell...
Forteresse imaginaire - Imaginary Fortress
Terre cuite patinée, pièce originale - Terracotta with patina.
35 x 35 x 53 cm.
This imaginary fortress, high up on its rock, is just untakable. Anyone or anything placed inside should be totally protected from any harm. This art piece symbolises the ultimate protection of our inner values and treasures. This knightly retreat is the seat of ancient times, traditions and welfare... One might think, why build such and undestructible stronghold... in the middle of nowhere, and without any access! This sculpture reflects the sometimes totally absurd and illusory need for total protection from the outside world.
This art piece is the perfect setting of old legends and fairy tales, which still haunts generations of humans. Maybe because it shows a world with simple, a bit caricatural perhaps but deep and strong moral values, marvellous deeds and great hopes.
Mont d'Or - Golden Mount
Terre cuite patinée et peinte, pièce originale - Terracotta with paint and patina.
57 x 38 x 30 cm.
Golden Mount is perhaps a symbol for the pursuit of the meaning of life, the search for the divine. It is probably an initiatic process, where you'll need lots of patience, accepting to go step by step, without knowing what is on the next level. The man in search will walk around the golden mountain up to the top, only to find there is nothing there, but a huge precipice until the bottom of the mountain!
The meaning of life might not be the aim or the end of the road, but the road itself? Too many people spend a life searching for things they think are at the end of the road, as an ultimate goal, not seeing they pass just beside it.
Probably for the divine it is just the same: you can see its manifestations all around us if you adjust your eyes and your heart. The lesson is to live here and now the best we can, as the eternal life might well be already here with us...
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