TheArsenale, TheArtist #1 Victoire Thierrée

Victoire Thierree is a Paris-born contemporary artist whose practice is entirely focused on military subjects: the technology, the aesthetic, the architecture and the politics of armed conflict. In this exclusive interview for TheArsenale, she speaks with Jay Kim Salinger about how a breakup in Normandy led to a decade of access to military bases, stealth aircraft and armament factories, and why she believes art is the right lens through which to examine this hidden world.

Born in 1988 in Paris, Victoire Thierree began her career as a Beaux-Arts student and graduated in 2014. She now works from studios between Le Bourget and Pantin, two districts with deep connections to French aviation and military industry.

#1

JKS: How did you start? What was the inspiration?

The beginning is actually a bit funny. I was in the second year of Beaux Arts in Paris. I was with this guy who lived in Caen, Normandie, a city in the west of France. One day, I went to see him there and he broke up with me. I took my car and drove to the beach. I was alone and I started to follow bunkers around the beach. I started taking pictures of the huge bunkers of the Normandie Wall. I ended up spending 3 days there, and started reading about this subject, like the French cultural theorist, urbanist and aesthetic philosopher Paul Virilio and his beautiful book Bunker Archeology.

And then I started to read more military tactics, contemporary strategies. At the same time I was also going to Air Shows in France, Army Fairs (Le Salon du Bourget and Eurosatory) and doing research on military drones.

I told myself, as an artist I need to do work on this subject. I started like that. I thought I have to go to the US to see the airplanes and air shows, to know who is behind the Army and the industry. I wanted to photograph the F-117 Night Hawk, the first military stealth airplane used by the US Air Force.

I was on the road alone for a month. When I came back to France it was clear: yes, I need to do this work.

#2

JKS: What was the first action after you made yourself clear that you want to do this?

I started to call the French Army from a corridor at Beaux Arts de Paris.

"Hi I'm Victoire, I'm a 2nd year Beaux-Art student and I want to go to your military drone base to take pictures."

"Okay."

I took a train and arrived at the base at 6pm. They asked: "Did you bring your dinner?" I said: "No." They replied: "Okay, because dinner is finished." I went to the back of the kitchen and took food from there. I was alone in a small room. It was my very first night in the military.

#3

JKS: Are they usually supportive? Wouldn't it be difficult to communicate with people dealing with highly classified information?

They are usually supportive, and that is also because I am very precise in my requests: what I want to do, what I need to see and to shoot, because I do extensive research before making a call.

In addition to that, if you follow the rules it is fine. Don't run away at take-off, don't climb on the fighter airplane and things like that (Laugh). It takes time to be trusted by these people and to be free to work, but I am an artist and I want to do what I want to do.

#4

JKS: Do you find this subject interesting because it is rare and not many have done it before, or because of the aesthetic, the technology, the use of it?

I am not a big army fan. I think it is an important world to work on as an artist. I want to show this world through my eyes and sensibility. It talks about violence, aesthetics, politics, technology, strategy. Our current life is linked with it and many people work in this industry. It is a huge subject to discover further.

Taxinomie, Mask serie, 2017, metal, 30 x 18 x 8 cm.

#5

JKS: Do you think it is important as an artist working on military subjects to show society the impact of military power and our current situation, or is it a separate matter?

My last show in Paris was called "Lisser L'espace", literally translated as "The Smooth Space". This concept was created and used by the Israeli army during recent conflicts where they no longer use the concepts of "street", "wall" or "border". They go into the first house with a tank and the soldiers make holes through houses for miles. They use private spaces as the battlefield. The space of battle is wherever they decide to start. I think it is interesting to show and talk about the strategy, the weapons, the airplanes, the camouflage, which are created in military conflicts, and to try to understand why.

JKS: Filmmaker Denis Villeneuve has a similar view. He once stated: "I hate violence, and I think that violence is meaningful if you see the impact of violence on victims. I don't want to make a show of violence. When I use violence in a movie it is just to express the power, the impact of it."

Studio view, December 2017, Pantin (France).

#6

JKS: What is the hardest part of working on such a unique subject? What is the next step?

The hardest part of making art from this subject is producing work that does not look like a plain military object, but which leaves questions in the world. I more and more want to make sculptures and installations with materials that exist only in the military and space worlds. I do a lot of research and meet industry people to see what they are developing and building today, and to study the aesthetic of the materials and objects that emerge from it. I want to challenge myself: how far can I go into this world that I knew nothing about a few years ago? I have no military background in my family. Now I want to go as deep and as far as I can into this very restricted world.

Studio, December 2017, Paris (France).

#7

JKS: Has anyone ever said no to you? Tried to stop you?

Yes, people from big industrial companies that sell armaments. But they usually do not say a cold "No", so I never stop asking.

F117 A, 2017, 136 x 100 x 21 cm, Steel, Epoxy paint.

Victoire Thierree's exclusive artworks will be available on TheArsenale for collectors, including F117 A, a steel sculpture inspired by the F-117 Night Hawk, the first military stealth airplane designed by the US Air Force in the 1960s. For collector enquiries, contact the editor at jay@thearsenale.com.

Explore the full TheArsenale Gallery collection to discover art that sits at the intersection of technology, design and human achievement. The gallery also features the photographic work of Benedict Redgrove's NASA series, another body of work that explores the aesthetic and cultural power of the machines built at the limits of human engineering, alongside individual pieces such as the EMU Space Suit Helmet from Space Shuttle Atlantis.