Co-evolution is intrinsic to friendship, you always co-participate in each other’s life until maybe, in some rare instance maybe you outgrow the other person and follow your evolutive process elsewhere. Victor Piette and I are friends, we co-evolve a lot. I like to say that we are like trees whose branches meet and channel light together – while remaining opaque to one another, a bit like the dark side of the moon. 

Adopting a different position or role during this discussion, Victor and I have been able to uncover something of our common obsession for space, choreography and archetypes.  

‍C: We’re friends and we almost know everything about each other. You’re familiar with my viewpoint and personal experience of embodiment and incarnation, but yours is still a bit unclear to me. How do you relate to it?

V: I’d say it’s a core notion to me, in various ways. Firstly, because my practice revolves around styling and because styling itself has become a huge part of who I am, as an individual. I’m into it because of how evocative it can be, because of the storytelling.

The fact that you can have a narrative direction and an evocative silhouette, a direct archetype to embody whether on the daily or during jobs is fascinating to me.

I like that it’s a direct way of showcasing who you are or can be. 

C: Is it a bit like a video game? 

V: Yes, because it can be both very direct and somewhat childlike at times, as well as very complex and intricate in terms of its nuances and combinations. Usually, when I dress myself, I tend to be straightforward. But in general, relating styling to the notion of embodiment is crucial to make it more than just a game. To me, there’s a need for figures we can identify with or refer to, even if we cannot physically represent them. This can involve iconographies or personal mythologies that invoke archetypal entities.

In this context, I feel personally engaged in creating and materializing these imagined images and fantasies. It could be creatures, like angels, that embody non-physical feelings or impressions—a sense of an invisible, protective yet wild presence around me.

Or it could be about revisiting experiences from the past that I can only re-illustrate. I think this is how you can embody yourself daily—by having access to these figures and, through your art, giving life to and protecting these new entities, creating an atmospheric self, you know.

‍C: So, within images certain archetypes can come to life, incarnate a role which evoke for instance a sensorial system, a set of symbols but still something that is not an intrinsic quality of the subjects but is externally given to them? Do you believe it’s applicable to real life? 

V: Yes, exactly. In my practice, for instance, it's about depersonalization—that's how I infuse meaning. I aim to feel and be less original, unique, or individual, and more diffuse and general. In my personal life, I feel more connected to myself.

That's why storytelling is a core concept for me, though the scenario itself is less important. Even though the realization can be complex, the character can and often must be extremely simple. I love this aspect because it allows you to express something fundamental about the archetype rather than a specific viewpoint.

C: It’s a bit as if you consider the body as this sort of receptive physical and material structure able to channel various impressions of the world. 

V: Yes! To me, nothing is more evocative than a silhouette. Our silhouettes fascinate me, the volumes and structures, you know. It’s something that echoes to drawing for me, but in 3D. In general, I’m drawn to compositions, whether they’re real or artificial. When you focus on the composition of a silhouette in relation to the anatomical body, it becomes a catalyst—that’s why I love choreography.

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Choreography is an incredible phenomenon of bodily organization, whether solo or in groups. Even in masses, the same system remains operative, constantly seeking harmony within movement.

When you zoom out from the graphics or anamorphoses formed by a group with their bodies, the shapes flatten and reveal an evocative pattern: a symbol that ultimately becomes the avatar of a community.

C: Like how a mass of people resemble ants on the ground when viewed from above?

V: Yes! And if you look at it close enough, we often end up forming circles with our silhouette whenever we’re trying to balance it. When we gather, it’s always around a center – it’s quite sacred and organic. For me, it’s a choreographic and graphic embodiment of the group's energy. It also allows us to evolve according to a reference point. This might be part of the reason we create logos to represent communities. I also see a connection between the word "corporation" and the word "body," or the concept of a "collective body effect." 

C: I like that idea, the focus on body movements and volumes and the system of interactions it generates within space. 

V: I think a lot in terms of frames and framing, 2D and 3D – I like when things are frontal you know. 

C: You know, there’s this “design thinking” scholar called Buchanan (Wicked Problems in Design Thinking, 1992) who evokes design as the “science or ability to generate and anticipate placements”. I believe in this idea of controlled placements as something more soothing you know – it allows for space, breath and emotional comfort. 

V: I feel very strongly about that, you know, silhouettes, images, storytelling, it’s all about guidelines and creative trajectories allowing for space and breath. It makes everything more readable, legible you know. I think that’s one of the reasons why I’m fascinated by symbols, logos and semiology… you can crack the code.

For instance, in my most recent project PLACE FOR HEALING, I tried to archive myself in a way, to create this historic of my personal representations and relationship to clothing from my childhood to my adolescence.

That’s why it is above all an atmosphere, a linear reading through time; it had to be limpid. It’s a presentation and an introduction. You know, the characters are a trompe-l’oeil, visions of myself destined to be perceived by the spectators. 

C: Your vision of embodiment seems very directed towards the others, as a form of conflict resolution. 

V: Yes, it’s all about the encounter! 

C: I love this idea, it’s very poetic and simple and based on trust, no? 

VP: Exactly, I think I managed to finally manifest it in Place for Healing. I couldn’t depart it from who I am and how I process life you know. It makes sense at this specific stage of my life to introduce 8 versions of myself to the others. 

C: That’s very sweet and healing… 

All images courtesy of Victor Piette