artist/ Fontvieille

France

Chantal Fontvieille works on the motif of the target, mostly recovered from shooting ranges after use. The target, developed by the artist, is the erect body that we try to take hold of, to touch, and which remains, immovable, in front of us, at a distance. Bruised and damaged, crumpled and wounded. It embodies loss, in its absoluteness and totality, the impossible mourning. The impacted target is a wounded human body, and like the body itself, it has two plastic sides, a front and a back. And a heart that we are trying to reach.

Chantal Fontvieille’s targets all feature projectile impacts. But whereas the shooter’s gaze stops at the surface of the target, the artist takes us deeper, creating new perspectives and new meanings.

Here, by sewing back the tears caused by the impacts, the artist reveals new motifs evoking celestial constellations. There, the target’s ‘wounds’ become a trajectory for light. Elsewhere, it’s the lead, both target and projectile, that becomes imprinted and preserves the memory of the violence of the impact, like a register of war victims. Further on, it is the archer who seems to mirror himself in the target, through a series of superimposed prints on plexiglass. Finally, the artist’s gesture imprints the tree trunk, transmitting its vital fluid to the impacted target.