What remains of the human form when the ability to see is lost and the body must make its way back into the earth by feel?
Laurent Valeras treats the artwork not as a fixed object, but as an ongoing process of transformation and passage across sculpture, installation, photography, video, painting, and performance. Using handmade wool from Pyrenean sheep breeds shaped entirely without molding or sewing through water, pressure, and friction, he creates totally blind figures. These masks carry the physical imprint of local herds, traditional practices, and an ancient landscape that refuses to serve only as scenery.
When a person steps barefoot onto the ground while wearing one of these pieces, sight disappears and the body relies on touch, sound, and movement. Inverted tree branches holding felted masks and raw stones remind us that the human body does not stand above the earth’s ecosystem, but is one of its living manifestations.
The figures, captured in collaboration with photographer Fabrice Hibert while surrounded by the imposing mountains, forests, rivers, and rocks of the Pyrenees, emerge from the landscape as if they had always belonged there. At times, they seem to dissolve completely into the environment, blurring the differences between animal, human, and earth.
Where does the body really end, and where does the environment begin?
Credits
Artist, Concept, Installation, Performance, Masks: Laurent Valera
Photography: Fabrice Hibert & Laurent Valera
Models: Laurent Valera / Jean-Yves Vincent (snail)
Art and Science Research Collaboration: Catherine Milou