Madame de Brassempouy

H 30 cm W 40 cm D 17 cm
Serpentine, reinforced concrete base

For this work, I was inspired by the Dame de Brassempouy, a small statuette carved almost 25,000 years ago from ivory, but I wanted “Madame de Brassempouy” to be larger (30 cm vs. 3.6 cm) and black in color, a characteristic of serpentine. Its reinforced concrete base, a testament to our modern times, provides a pedestal for this iconic and symbolic representation of womanhood.

Madame de Brassempouy has retained the enigmatic expression of her prehistoric elder, but delivers a new message. By casting her gaze far and wide over the world, she bears witness to the fact that there is no need for words to impose her presence, and makes Philippe Jaccottet's line “L'effacement soit ma façon de resplendir” her own.