The Jojos.

Where do we stand as humans today?

What have we become? How have we evolved?

This series of sculptures began in 2014. At first, Jojo was simply another animal for me, alongside rhinoceroses, bears and hippopotamuses. The name “JOJO” comes from a chimpanzee who lived in the Parc de la Pépinière in Nancy, where I spent many hours as a child.

Little by little, as I created new pieces, Jojo became increasingly “human”. The relationship between humans and apes has long been a subject of controversy. In contemporary palaeoanthropology, humans do not descend from the apes living today: humans are themselves apes.

Through this series, which sometimes draws on icons of contemporary society, I want to make people think. Whoever the sculpture represents, that person is an ape. It is a way of bringing everyone back down to earth.

Today, particularly in art, individuals are increasingly turned into icons. Their images become associated in our collective imagination with feelings and ideas that we attribute to them, rightly or wrongly. A few names are enough to bring these associations to mind: Coluche, Gainsbourg, Brigitte Bardot, Steve McQueen…

The figures I have portrayed, such as Karl Lagerfeld, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Bob Marley, Michael Jackson and Einstein, were chosen somewhat spontaneously, but above all for what they represent.

Other characters come from everyday life. They are anonymous people we might encounter, reflecting the society around us: the bad boy, the show-off, the rocker, the punk, the football fan, the biker, the thinker, the boxer… Each has something endearing about them. They are authentic, uncompromising characters, perhaps unlike some of the “stars”.

I have no favourite theme. As long as I feel inspired and have opportunities to create new characters, I will continue.

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