Audette
Body painting is the artist’s primary source of inspiration. As a young boy, Audette was often babysat by a girl with a passion for illustration. She humbly set out to initiate him to drawing. He has vivid memories of these precious moments when he would religiously observe her creative gestures. With almost 20 years of body painting expertise, he proudly signs every one of his works, each reflecting his values. Sometimes, these values can shock and unsettle the viewer, opening the door to reflection. The models working with the artist have often encouraged him to develop his artistic side and create pictorial works for exhibition. Nowadays, the visual arts world must constantly renew itself to keep up with the digital shift, a vector of innovation that seeks to make reality virtual. The artist is part of this generation of creators that strive to translate the artistic language using mediums that make this formula possible. One of these mediums is photography, an important ally of Audette's work.
The artist's work is influenced by a variety of marginal and contemporary art forms, such as street mural art, tattooing, fantasy comics and photography. He most admires a few select artists that inspire him with their original work and unconventional practices because they constantly push their creative limits: sculptor Dale Chihuly for his choice of bright colours; Thierry Mugler, especially for his artistic discipline in scripted photography; Frank Frazetta for his ability to sculpt the human body from all possible angles and, Alfons Mucha, for his entire body of work
In an attempt to dissociate nudity from sexuality, Audette uses art in his work as a vector for his cause. He seeks to introduce a healthy, intelligent vision of the moving beauty of the human body. body shaming(1)By denouncing society’s obsession with the human physique, he supports various feminist causes which, for him, are essential movements for raising awareness of the image of women in our society. me too(2) qui pour lui sont des mouvements essentiels à la prise de conscience de l’image de la femme dans notre société.
When creativity strikes, he seeks to reveal all of the magnificence of the human body in spite of imperfections that could trigger contempt or disgust, simply because they do not meet society’s so-called standard.
A simple canvas, brush and paint are not enough to achieve Audette's work. Just as a designer works out his plans, the artist plans out his designing process. The first step is to find the representative model that will reveal the artist's intentions for the work presented. Then, he must prepare the background in which the model will evolve during its bodily transformation. A major component when designing his creations is using the human body as the main medium. Whether male or female, black or white, old or young, handicapped or not, Audette uses this body, painting it to make it an integral component of the final work of art. Using colours often inspired by the chosen model, he composes without neglecting shapes or, sometimes, redefines the natural appearance of the body's curves. At this stage, the vibrant colours used on the model begin to meld with the background hiding the body. Audette is then ready to transform the scene into a digital image by taking a picture that will allow him to visualize lights, tones, hues, composition and framing. From this moment on, a ritual is born, from paint touch-ups to picture-taking, until he obtains the desired result that will impact the level of pictorial creation.
With a concern for quality, Audette photographs in RAW format to avoid destructive touch-ups to the file. The image thus created is translated into a photographic work printed on canvas. This is when Audette sits down in front of the easel and, as if seeing his work for the first time, he begins to apply paint pigment to the printed canvas to remodel its visual state. Now, a figurative pictorial work in mixed media begins to take shape, joining the era of contemporary art.
With his art, Audette wants to introduce the world to the beauty of nudity without it being vulgar, to the beauty of the human being without it being perverse and to the beauty of art without reservation of rights. And lastly, to offset the ugliness of today's world, he would like human nature to become one with its hostess, Mother Earth...