Art Exhibitions

A political and social commitment

For over thirty years, Diane Victor has been offering an art that is fascinating in its technical complexity and its enigmas of meaning. A combat artist, like her name, she now enjoys international recognition thanks to works that reflect the breadth and diversity of her repertoire. Her ability to constantly evolve and explore new forms gives her work a striking and timeless modernity. Far from being limited to the simple representation of figures, her work takes a critical look at society. Through striking compositions, she denounces the inequalities, corruption and systemic violence that mark both South African society and the entire world. Her art, imbued with a subtle black humor and enriched with cultural references ranging from the history of the Renaissance to African culture, seeks to destabilize the viewer while inviting them to reflect.

A unique technique: soot and charcoal

Diane Victor uses charcoal materials: charcoal, soot and candle smoke. Although the parallels are sometimes dangerous, it is interesting to evoke her place of birth. Born in Witbank, a mining town in South Africa, she grew up in an environment marked by coal dust and the darkness of industrial landscapes. This dark aesthetic is found in her works, where the material itself evokes precariousness and ephemerality. Soot and candle smoke allow her to create images that seem to fade, symbolizing the fragility of memory and the volatility of human existence.

Metamorphoses and volatile matter 

This exhibition particularly highlights the concept of therianthropy, which refers to the transformation of a human being into an animal, completely or partially. Diane Victor explores this theme on both a physical and psychological level, questioning the shifting boundary between humanity and animality. These figures become metaphors for instinct, domination or revolt. Her work recalls in particular the therianthropic stories of the Greek and Egyptian worlds, where man took on the appearance of animals to signify a social or spiritual transformation.

Diane Victor's techniques create an image that seems ready to disappear under the effect of volatile matter. Each drawing, engraving or print becomes a trace, a moment suspended between destruction and appearance. The exhibition " Les Métamorphoses" offers an immersion in this moving universe, where the boundaries between species are erased and where the image oscillates between disappearance and permanence. The visitor is invited to observe these mutations, to question what they reveal about our societies and our own humanity.

Address: 13 Quai de Conti, 75006 Paris, France

Tel: +33 1 46 33 77 90