All is Vanity

Laurent Muller is a French artist living and working in Malta. Five days before his first solo exhibition, All is Vanity, opens in London, he took time off from finishing off some steel works at a factory in Tal-Handaq to discuss his new work with The Barna Blog.

Benitoh in L´escarpolette recadree

... and more of Benitoh in The City

JF: It´s five days to go before your first show in London, how are the excitement levels?

Laurent Muller:  I´m working on the last pieces until the end to avoid stress. It helps keep the focus on the goal, experimenting. It’s all about experimentation.

 JF:  This new material seems to be a departure from your previous work. I was looking at your stuff on your website (http://www.laurentmuller.com/) the early pieces seem to be a lot softer, almost more romantic. This is brighter, more ´pop´. How did it come along?

 LM:  I painted my last series of paintings, called the Last Romantic Hours, six months ago. A fracture happened at that moment, I threw away most of the old works in my studio. It´s about growing up, cleansing, getting some pure lines and images, so going back to my roots of industrial design was the most sensible thing I could do.

JF:  I love the fact that you´ve picked a skeleton from the hallowed tombstones at St.Johns Co-Cathedral, and put him in briefs. Tell me about Benitoh ...

 LM:  Ah, he was born a year ago when I transferred all my original tracings of the tombstones from St John´s to digital data. I learnt AutoCAD and Benitoh came along: witty and sensitive, very human.

I had traced several skeletons, all baroque from this fantastic floor of inlaid marble. Then I learnt that for the Knights of the Order, death was only a passage to posterity for the glory of their beliefs. So Benitoh is a fun loving buddy, sad or goofy. Just like us all.

 JF:  Does he feature in the sculptures as well?

 LM:  His image is engraved in the marble pieces of the show, in almost all the digital unique prints, and for fun in a series of six different T-shirts that are currently being screen-printed. Fashion, art, design, cultural heritage, there is no limit to our 21st century, so let's enjoy!

 JF:  And vanity?

 LM:  Ah! Vanitas, vanitas! A fantastic theme, so contemporary

 JF:  the 21st century condition ...

 LM:  Yes exactly, vanity means so much more than vainglory and boasting. Where do we stand with all our values? It´s about a sensitive consciousness that tells us we are not heroes. We are but human, so we create to forget, no?

 JF:  Indeed

LM:  I can’t stop creating, otherwise I'll start questioning the unreasonable, and the never answered

 JF:  And answers can often be the killers of creativity, don’t you think?

LM:  Yes, whilst questions open all doors. Speak up, question, disagree … That’s what we need to learn. It should be taught at school!

 JF:  I suppose you have to speak up, question and disagree with a lot when you´re working as an artist in Malta

LM:  First if one works alone, he questions himself constantly.

Then in a small environment you want to explode all boundaries and make it an experimental place, where the classic doesn’t exist, and need to be reinvented. In Malta, that can be done perfectly! I mean, look, I am answering you from a great metal factory in Tal-Handaq.

JF:   Has St John´s reacted to your reinvention of the classic?

LM:  At first some people were pissed that it was a foreigner doing this project. Then they warmed up and saw that with respect, anyone could, should, be taking attention to this unique jewel.

 JF:  They should start selling Benitoh t-shirts in the museum shop!

 LM: Actually, that sounds like a great idea. I want to create a brand.

The briefs should be a hit.

 JF:  What happens after London? Have you got anything else lined up?

LM:  I’ve been proposed two other shows in London, one in December and one in October 2010.

 JF:  Wahay!

LM: I´ve also been invited to give a workshop on the subject of design and heritage art in France, and in parallel I hope to create some link with Central Saint Martin´s in London.

 JF:  Anything in particular?

 LM:  I like this notion of heritage art, it's open to any kind of inspiration, all around the world. Why not India after, or the Emirates!

It is about sharing after all.

 JF:  Benitoh´s global domination …

LM:  Exactly. Am I perhaps going too fast? Maybe, but I like the risk of burning my wings. I would hate to become bourgeois, ever!

All is Vanity is showing at the MPA Gallery,
33 Mill Street,
London
SE1 2AX from 16 October to 7 November.  (http://www.mpagallery.co.uk/)