ADRIANNA WALLIS
Adrianna Wallis was born in France in 1981. A graduate of the University of Barcelona s Fine Arts program, she currently lives and work in Corrençon en Vercors, France. Her practice is focused on the ways we relate to the ordinary objects of everyday life. These objects alternately constitute the form, the material, the language, and the symbol of her work. Liberated from their primary purpose, the objects shed their utilitarian function and acquire a narrative dimension. The artist s treatment of this transitory material a mix of technique, meticulous craft, and a tender and subversive poetic approach offers the viewer a work full of humility with a singular evocative power. By drawing from her personal history and the unveiled intimacies contained in the material, she dives into family ties, the passage between generations, femininity, as well as suffered absences and excessive presences. Adrianna s work provides the spectator multiple entry points that quietly elicit memories, some real and some only imagined. Effectively, the object becomes a gateway to one s own intimacies.
One-Person Exhibitions 2015 U, UV, WX, W, 3D Gallery, Venice, Italy. 6 mèches de plus, Galerie Laure Roynette, Paris, France. 2014 Rare et Magnifique, Angle Art Contemporain, St-Paul-Trois- Châteaux, France. 2013 IJ, U, X y Otros Recuerdos Dormidos, Festival ArtNou, Galerie La Taché, Barcelona, Spain. 2012 Rare et Magnifique - La Performance, La Sala Vinçon, Barcelona. Bijou Bougie, FAD, Foment de les Arts i Disseny, Barcelona. Group Exhibitions 2015 Festival Nomade (performance), Paris. Infiltrations, CAB, Grenoble, France. Serendipity, Galerie Laure Roynette, Paris. Ex-Voto, Espace d Art François Auguste Ducros, Grignan, France. 2014 OFF - Contemporary Art Fair, 3D Gallery, Brussels. Res no satura. Acte i Prefaci. DAFO, Lleida, Spain. 2013 Christmas Exhibition, Le Magasin, Grenoble, France. 8th Leandre Cristòfol Art Biennale, Art Center La Panera, Lleida, Spain Altari Profani, SENSUS, Florence, Italy. Materia de Ensayo, Demolden Video Project, Santander, Spain. 2012 Ouverture I et IV, Sala d Art Jove, Barcelona. 2011 ArtFad, FAD, Barcelona. Degree Show El Camí Per Fer, Casa Elizalde, Barcelona. Awards and Grants 2013 Visual Arts Grant, Fundació Felicia Fuster, Barcelona. 2012 Visual Art Grant, Sala d Art Jove, Barcelona. 2011 Nominated for ArtFad Award, FAD, Barcelona. First prize, Contemporary Jewelry Competition, Enjoia t, FAD, Barcelona. 2008 First prize, Raima Ilustration and Design Competition, Barcelona. Residencies 2014 Lugar a Dudas, Cali, Colombia (Oscar Muñoz s residency) Formation 2013 BFA, Universidad de Barcelona
Rare et Magnifique 2012 Ground objects, polyurethane resin, 5 min. HD video. Variable dimensions Over the course of six months the artist bought objects on the Internet that were described as rare and magnificent by their sellers. The 25 objects received constitute a unique raw material, loaded with stories and subjective value, which she ground into fine powder and cast into 12 ingots. Click here to watch the video
À ma mère. À ma fille. 2011 Made-to-measure case, 18k gold-plated chain. 67 x 27 x 27 cm Necklaces or jewels are transmitted from one generation to another. Here, the chain is lengthened. Links are added to attach the three generations of women: my mother, myself, my daughter.
Bijou Bougie 2012 Melted altar candles, wick, clasp, 4 min HD video. Variable dimensions Fine pearl necklaces made of wax, gradually erased by a flame. During this slow progression we time-travel back along the creative process but, above all, we are invited to travel back in a more personal way, following the thread of our own memory. Jewels are intimate objects, singular and sensitive. The memories and stories they carry, the bonds they create between two people, are often imperishable. Click here to watch the video
Poire 2010 White bronze. 13 9 10 cm
Les Soliloques 2015 Sound recording (11 minutes), hypersonic sound speaker, light tripod, bench The performance is a study of our interior thoughts. I ask passerbys to verbally express their current thoughts literally speaking to themselves, as they hear their words through headphones while I record. The thoughts are then played in the National Archives building with a specific ultrasound speaker, allowing the recorded thoughts to penetrate the very inside of the spectator s head. How do those intimate words resonate with our own lives? What do we find in those endless flows of dialogue with oneself, in this ordinarily inaudible swarm of thoughts? Click here to listen to an excerpt
Alphabet pour réécrire l histoire des familles (incomplet) 2012 to date Monogrammed bed sheet collection in alphabetical order, needles, wooden bed structure, laser copy. Variable dimensions The artist has undertaken a long and uncertain search for pairs of letters that will recreate the 26-letter alphabet from family initials embroidered on bed sheets. The sheets came from various countries, social statuses, timeframes, and were found at homes, on the Internet, in car boots... All linens carry a very personal and intimate story. The sum of these uncovered intimacies dissolves in the objectivity and regularity of the alphabet. The spectator is invited to join in and help complete the alphabet by looking for IJ, U, or X linens in their own family.
Confettis pour Adieux 2013 4,000 pieces of hand-made porcelain confetti, wooden structure. Variable dimensions Confettis pour Adieux (Farewell Confetti) starts with the artist and several volunteers from among the spectators throwing handfuls of porcelain confetti in the air. This ritual gesture is presented as an opportunity to celebrate the release of a stifling thought. The end of the thought is represented by the crushing of the confetti underfoot. During the course of the exhibition, the public is invited to walk over the confetti left on the ground, thus grinding the pieces into dust.
Collection de vides 2009 Plaster, chromogenic prints, paper. 25 100 25 cm The empty moulds and photographs of the objects symbolize the feeling of lack, of absence, felt during the artist s childhood, the consequence of successive losses.
Sculpture de poche 2012 Solid bronze. 15 15 8 cm Interior of a pair of jeans pocket filled with bronze. The sculpture weighs 2 kg.
Noeuds 1 à 6 2014 Ink on tracing paper. Each drawing 50 70 cm The artist asked random people that she met to draw their interior knot. Here, she presents a selection of reproductions that invert the original drawings, each accompanied by a title.
Marie qui défait les noeuds 2014 Religious incense grains of Mary, Undoer of Knots, ink-jet prints. Each box 17 20 cm Burning incense grains of Mary, Undoer of Knots is supposed to solve problematic situations. By sorting out the multicoloured grains, the artist plunges her hands into a chaos of worries to establish a meticulous order.
L harmonie immense qui dit tout 2014 Rope and woolen sally, pulley, inkjet print of Victor Hugo poem. Variable dimensions To link together this rope in the gallery with bell n 2 in the cathedral s bell tower, located 125 metres away; to allow the visitor to ring the bell by himself; to let the bell disperse loud and clear his state of mind... All those wishes could not be fulfilled despite the technical feasibility of the project and the blessing of the religious authorities due to lack of administrative authorization.