Interview with Celine Guichard

q)Something on you…whatever you want…

a)My mother has bought me a small electical iron. But as I am only four, she rips off
the electrical plug, in front of my very eyes, so that I can't plug it. She
meticuously rolls up the cord and stores it in the chests bottom drawer in her room.
My mother irons the laundry in the living room. And me I play in her room. I pretend
to iron. I'm ironing my dolls clothes. I am quick to notice that my small iron does
not heat up and so I am getting bored of ironing. But I'm disappointed at my dolls
chothes which are always wrinkled. So I open the drawer, and I prented that I am
mummy ironing. I prentend that I am Mummy who plugs the iron in. I have found the
cord. With my two fingers I am pluging it in the outlet. An intense swarming runs in
my entire body, it is very powerful, I am paralysed, electrified, I am all shaken
from inside. And then nothing.
I am recovering. I am bathing in my pee. I have three big smoking holes on my little
fingers. With a voice mixed with tears and suffocation, I am blundering through «
Tatitatatatatontonmamipapitati... »
I never iron my clothes.

q)How would you describe your art to someone who could not see it?

a)My images represent bearded women, a dogman with big bollocks, a zoophile and his
dog, a bat hung to someone's thumb, a woman with a disease of the gum, another one
with a terrible skin disease, a bouquet of vegetal parrots, a stain on a red even
surface, an old man with a eletrical train up the arse, a young woman who rips off a
handful of her pubic hair on a deserted beach, another one who massages her ego, a
bird with its wings tangled up in a woman's hair, she's broken to pieces, a naked man
with his cellphone, an octopus woman who gets her sex stroken, a skeleton's mask hung
on a chair underneath which lies a body covered with hairs, a transexual who wanks
himself on a chair, two red men and an keyhole eating animal, a woman with plaits who
has her periods, a salad eating cat...

q)What are you doing now…your current projects…

a)At the moment I am an artist in residence at the Maison des Auteurs d'Angoulême
(Charente, France), where I shall be carrying on until february, it is a one year
residency. I am working on a graphic novel. I am also preparing a solo exhibition for
november 20th in the same place.

q)Where do you get your inspirations…?

a)I don't know really. Here and there I guess.


q)What are your next projects…?

a)Carrying on. I have started to paint again.

q)What other talent would most like to have…?

a)Talent does not exist. I believe one specializes, that's all

q)Where have you show your art…?

a)In last July august, I have exhibited at the famous bookstore, un regard moderne in
Paris, and in september, I have taken part in a group show entitled « The bic show »,
in a parisian gallery.

q)Do you collaborate or have you collaborated with magazines,zines…or
other ?

a)Yes it sometimes happens, for graphic revues such as « Chutes », « zinc »,
les éditions hermaphrodites, les Éditions Marchand feuilles, and also for websites such as
leterrier.net, desordre.com, bonobo.net, leportillon.com, bonobocomix.com...

q)Favourite book?

a)I have several favorite books,
— « Les vies parallèles » de Louis Calaferte
— the novellas from Catherine Mansfield
— « The book of disquiet » from Fernando Pessoa
— "Scottature" from Dolores Prato
— Everything Haruki Murakami did
— The Larousse medical illustrated dictionnay, the 1925 edition
— « Cooking in 20 lessons » from Pellaprat
— « Jeeves » from Pelham Grenville Wodehouse
— « the capricos» of Goya
— "Hôtel Iris" from Yôko Ogawa
— Many books of Edward Gorey but especially "the curious sofa"
— « Tales of Moonlight and Rain» of Ueda Akinari
— « Mémoire d'une fouetteuse » de Faty
— « the Cabinet of medical curiosities" of Eric Bouhier
— « Nécron » of Magnus
— « Les Aventures extraordinaires d'Adèle Blanc-sec » de Tardi
— Everything that Suehiro Maruo did
— « L'homme au Landau » of Jacques Lob

q)What materials do you use for your creations?

a)I use both traditionnal tools such as pencils and brushes, acrylic paint and chinese
ink and numeric tools such as Illustrator, Photoshop and Image Ready to fabricate
animated gifs.

q)Are there certain colours,shapes that you are drawn to?

a)I like the square. I don't think I am particularly drawned to any colour.

q)How important is self-promotion for an artist nowadays?

a)For an artist who is not represented by any gallery, nor any agent, there is no other
way than self promotion. With the internet this has become easier to show one's work
to a quiet large number of people.

q)What do you fear the most?

a)I fear myslef, life and big black dogs.

q)Music you like and you listen…

a)My musical tastes are quiet common, shitty actually if not shameful, and they have
very little interest in being stated, if it was not to do harm to my reputation.

q)A message for the readers…

a)No message .

q)Your contacts….E-mail…links…

a)http://www.celineguichard.name/