For more than ten years, Benoît Piéron has been making patchworks from recycled hospital sheets after a chance encounter in the aisle of a DIY store – and a response to his pathology – prompted him to adopt this medium. Captivated by the colours of these found fabrics, his colours, like heraldry for the bedridden, he set out to transform the textiles with needle and thread.
Creating parallels between skin and fabric, between medical stitches and sewing, the artist’s creations stake out their claims, embarking on a poetic quest that confronts tragedy.
Benoît Piéron’s works bear the weight of the time required to design and make them and so time itself becomes his medium of choice.
Plaid, the piece on show, reflects Benoît Piéron's process, which is an act of resistance in the face of death, an art form that takes back possession of the artist's body from the hands of medicine.
Benoît Piéron (France) is recipient of the Cité internationale des arts Visual Arts Committees.