Corinne Thouvenin

AMBIVALENCE, the tenuous boundary (between reality and imaginary) as a path of possibilities.
An exhibition of artworks by Corinne Thouvenin, curated by Agénore Thoré.

In a world saturated with images, where scrolling has become second nature, we often forget the simple yet invigorating pleasure of contemplation. The photographer Corinne Thouvenin reconnects us with this pleasure through visual ambivalence. More precisely, through pareidolia, a phenomenon of dual interpretation— between the real and the imaginary—is based on the way our brain decodes its environment.
At first glance, her photographs invite us into a game of perception: to search for hidden forms and look beyond first impressions. An entertaining puzzle, accessible to all. With our childlike spirit, we find ourselves guessing what the artist intended, and soon we are lost in our own imaginations; sometimes, we even dream.
Furthermore, by favouring ambiguity over certainty and suggestion over narration, the artist opens a space for interpretation in which passive viewing becomes impossible.

« My photographs are intended to be both an expression of my imagination 
and a mirror of the viewer’s imagination.»

In each photograph, Corinne Thouvenin captures Reality and simultaneously Imaginary. Reality becomes her raw material, which she reappropriates and transforms through photographic staging. In other words, without digital manipulation or artificial intelligence. In doing so, she reveals the dreamlike power of reality, as well as its plasticity and porosity.
Ultimately, Corinne Thouvenin challenges our belief in objective perception. As she puts it, “To believe that we can perceive reality objectively is an illusion.” Likewise, she argues that “In photography, reality means nothing because photography is never merely a process of recording reality.”

This statement is intentional. She uses the art of misappropriation and ambivalence to convey this to us. Similarly, the titles of her photographs and her words reinforce her point:

« I have titled some of my series Les Simulacres (appearances) 
and Les Faux-semblants (misperceptions) to show that 
the porosity between reality and the imaginary
is inherent in the way we see and in photography as a tool.»

Finally, Corinne Thouvenin also plays with ambivalence to show that reality contains the seeds of a sublime plurality and otherness; and that opposites can resemble one another, for there is a porosity between the plant world and the animal world; between flowers and insects; between the gigantic and the minuscule… Through these visual correspondences, Corinne Thouvenin suggests that reality is never truly dichotomous. Boundaries between opposites remain fluid and permeable, while dichotomies themselves may be little more than constructs of the mind.

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Agénore Thoré, curator of the exhibition
Translation by Orlane Robert (proofreading by Corinne Thouvenin).