Prêt à faire une grosse bêtise
2003 - Sculpture (Sculpture)
177x82x57 cm
Alain Séchas
A cat, standing like a human being, is looking at us with round and dazed eyes and holds a gun. In the background, we notice a range of unwelcoming buildings, closed in with barbwire. A sentence is inscribed inside of one of the clouds, as if it were a speech bubble, and comments ?with hope or disillusion? ?: « Ready to do something very bad ». We are left speechless and worried in front of this situation in which Alain Séchas projects us directly and spontaneously. With this installation combining a painting and a sculpture, we are given all the burden of reality to carry on our backs. With Séchas, things are clear: at first sight, it is a straightforward joke; in the end, it leads to awareness and a sharp comment on society.
Alain Séchas is an artist and cartoonist. Since the early 1980s, he has developed a highly recognizable and singular body of work composed of drawings, sculptures, videos and installations. With a desire to reflect on our human condition, our fears and frustrations, Séchas repeatedly pictures and stages anthropomorphic figures in grotesque or humorous settings. The contrast between the nature of the depicted scenes and the naïve line of his characters that recall the aesthetic of cartoons and toys is accompanied by a sense of derealization challenging the audience in their perception of art. The eccentric and irreverent quality of his work, being highly informed by the History of modern and contemporary art, is inscribed in a thoughtful gesture that aims to test the boundaries of artistic formalism.
