The latest artist showcase highlights the work and life of Moontain. 

When did your interest in art/creating begin?

It’s always complicated to put a precise date on something that is more related to growing roots than a formal decision. I believe we all are interested in creating, it starts with the first thought, the first imaginary world, our feelings, then, we have the choice to expand it into this reality or not, and I always chose to expand them so it becomes my reality. For as long as I can remember, everything, from a stick of wood in the garden to a musical instrument, have been a subject to creation and expression. Art is just one of the many ways to practice an active thought, and it really started to be serious when I was a teenager, like many people, except that I never stopped.

What is your starting point for each piece?

A sort of “call” (from the canvas, stone, wood, vibe etc.)… The intuition that something is already here, just hidden in the dimension of “becoming”. It’s not really an improvisation, but rather a cooperation, full of trust, into the ethereal and the unconscious worlds. Something guides the details and moves allowing the whole to be, I observe it as much as I assist it. The pleasure comes with the meaning revealing itself, and since I’m sensitive to synchronicities as a channel of the consciousness, I’m very interested in the interpretation, information and knowledge coming out of it. Very often, discovering characters, frames in the artwork, makes me think of x or y stories, and once I’m looking for a title or an aphorism to go with it, I find connections between already existing myths and the work in front of me. It is a special feeling, to realize, no matter the time or space, it seems that a universal Source is shared eternally with every life’s forms.

Who/what influences your work?

Influences obviously come from different levels; sensitivity, impregnation, experiences, tastes and feeling. Also, it can be the shadow of a plant caressing a stone or a ray of sun designing a line on the canvas. But mostly, it’s about Pareidolia. It’s the ultimate guide for my work. From a chaotic display of colours or forms, entities are waiting to be discovered and guessed. In the end, what influences me is the initial vibration, no matter where it comes from, it’s filled with the original flow, where nothing is good or bad, just a matter to renew your experience of this existence and go forward.

What do you hope the viewer gets from your work?

I do not have a specific “hope” concerning what people can get from the work, because it’s up to each viewer to interpret it, with his/her own personal story. That being said, I have a wish, which would be to see the viewer peacefully let go of his/her tendency to automatically connect what they see, with what they once saw. This way, it would allow them to start a journey into some unknown areas of their mind. As they say, if you want to change the world, change the way you look at it. This is how we can renew our self, the answer, and the question itself.

In my works, at first sight, you can think it’s only a sort of accumulation of forms, but if you take the time to dive into it, you discover an abundance of lives, if you dive even deeper, you notice they’re all interconnected, dependent on each other to exist. The lesson to share would be that through a conscious observation of details animating this whole we live in, you can start to grasp the secret of an harmonious way of life. Ultimately, it gives a notion of infinite respect for every incarnation (ethereal, mineral, flora and fauna …) as they all allow us to be.

What do you think about the term Outsider Art? Is there a term that you think works better?

I guess people need a word to put on something so they feel reassured. I don’t really care about it. As a French person, I kinda liked this word, the way it sounds, but I don’t think it’s the best way to describe this kind of art. Because it just comes right from the inside of a Soul, and if it’s outside of something, it’s only of soulless components of a society. Aspiration of creation is to reveal how things are all intertwined, not separated, so there must be a better word I guess, but words are not always required to share a message anyway.

What are you working on at the moment?

I always have many artworks in progress (some are waiting for months, we mature in parallel before we meet again). At the moment I’m focusing on sculptures. I like the connection I find in a stone, because it’s so linked with (out of) Time, it comes from a very ancient past, it has seen so many Earth’s events, and hopefully will continue to do so in the future. This organic interaction carries some authentic vibrations, which is relieving, it has a deep meaning to me… in a perfect world we would sculpt caves, mountains, just like the winds and rivers do, and would write each other stories.

Where do you see your work taking you in the future?

I don’t see a specific place or state… in arts or in life in general, it’s all about becoming the best version of our self. Hopefully both follow this path of a better understanding and self-development. To transform limits into potential, interactions into changes and being a part of a needed evolution considering the urgency the planet is in right now. This is even more important than simply making artworks, it’s about reminding people (and myself) why we are experiencing this existence, if not for more consciousness, positive echoes feeding a virtuous circle, then it’d mean nothing.

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