©︎ Céline Pujol
©︎ Céline Pujol
©︎ Céline Pujol
©︎ Céline Pujol
The mouth as the entrance to desire, to pleasure, to sounds of voices and laughter, or as a receptacle for a kiss.
To the mouth are brought food and words. Sealed lips, mouth to mouth, word to word. The verb or the delicious food, delicately touched or swallowed whole, are all part of a discussion between oneself and one’s body.
Psychoanalytical studies by Freud and Lacan have drawn parallels between sexuality and food, theorizing the notion of the “scopophilia”, which implies the pleasure of looking, arousing the desire to see, embodied here in a symbolic mouth, totem-like, magnifying orality.
A faceless mouth, alive and passionate, observes us but we can’t find its gaze, nor does it let us understand what we see, it makes us question our needs, looking at the pleasure experienced.
Our contemporary society, imbued with seduction and sexual drive, reflects a certain excess of hyper-individualism. The mouth alone, which speaks, laughs, swallows, and kisses, is a powerful embodiment of this, also a main character in the expression of an archaic and primordial movement. The process of isolating the mouth as subject, raises questions about the position of the woman as “object”. Everyone can devour with their eyes, feed on abundance, or feel being devoured by someone else. Make yourself full or be the prey to a feeling of relentless emptiness.
“For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of” Gospel, Saint Luke.
The door of intimacy holds the word, the joy of a rousing song, cries out for the man who disappears around the corner to turn around. The mouth renders, at the top of its voice, all emotion, disjointed and unsuspected. The sealed lips conceal a buried, inaudible secret. Pinched lips, avoiding the last straw. The mouth reveals, pours out, an overflow, an illusion. Whispering dreams and the promise of a gentle dawn.
It announces, asks, grumbles, and demands.
It condemns.
It welcomes impatient, irrepressible, indomitable kisses.
The place of ultimate intimacy.
Personal.
Exclusive.
Unique.
On my mouth, leave your secret, your desire, your stuttered breath.
A precious gift, delicate and sublime.
— Céline Pujol
▍Céline Pujol
Performance, video, and sound installation are the keystones of Céline Pujol’s work. Guided by a vital and sensitive impulse the French contemporary artist works around body/voice, dance/poetry, exploring inner voices of intimacy here presented as photographs. Her focus on contemporary dance naturally results from her learning of Grotowski’s method of body art. Céline imagines scenic environments where poetic language, music, and subliminal images are mingled. Rhythms, textures, and gestures compose her deeply sensorial approach that helps redraw the contours of language and body, thus creating an interactive and immersive experience.
