GLOBAL YOUNG TALENT 2021: CHLOE ROCHEFORT | MIXED-MEDIA ARTIST SPECIALISED IN SET DESIGN

Chloe Rochefort is a mixed-media artist specialised in set design. Using psychedelic and absurd narratives, the young artist immerses her audience in a world of naive and childlike fantasies. As recently seen in the April issue of Harper’s Bazaar we had a great chance to get to know Chloe’s point of view on fashion and her being a designer.

What is your main inspiration as an artist?

My main inspiration is my fascination for normality and simple gestures of everyday-life. The idea is to show that the overly ordinary can be something exceptionally fantastic and playful. In the 60’s, as an aftermath of WWII, children were encouraged to build their own playgrounds with leftover materials and objects they found in the streets, which triggered their creativity and positive thinking. I am fascinated by these narratives where daily resourcefulness can lead to imaginative impulse. Looking at the current pandemic and the lockdown, it feels necessary to reinvent our daily routines and spaces to cope with the new norm. This has led to my set design project ‘The Great Neighbourhood of Happenstance Square’, which is directly inspired by the playfulness of domestic spaces.

You are a mixed-media artist specialised in set design, what made you follow this particular direction? ?

I have always been interested in the creation of sceneries and the manipulation of space. I aim to craft experimental and playful experiences through exploration of mixed materials, textures and colours. After all, set design is about transporting you and transforming your perception of the environment! Set design is also fascinating in the sense that it can be interactive and aid in generating a special bond between the artist and the audience. Moreover, I recently realized that my interest for set design goes beyond my personal practice. Earlier on in 2020, during the first lockdown, together with my dearest peers at the RCA an Instagram gallery called Creating in Crisis, which we hope to develop into physical exhibitions in the future. Curation is now another part of my artistic journey I am looking forward to exploring!

“ I aim to craft experimental and playful experiences through exploration of mixed materials, textures and colours. After all, set design is about transporting you and transforming your perception of the environment!”.”

Being so ambitious and creative, What would you call your favourite field in contemporary art?

Such a complicated question! Do I really have to choose? I have had many diverse influences from the contemporary art scene, influences that evolved as I grew up as an artist. However, if I had to pick one, it would be participative performance art, especially projects by the Fluxus movement. Fluxus’ art was an accessible, democratized art form, something close to the ordinary, utilizing community engagement and happenings. As someone who is really fascinated by audience interaction, some of the Fluxus artists such as Alison Knowles and George Brecht continue to inspire me everyday.

“I have had many diverse influences from the contemporary art scene, influences that evolved as I grew up as an artist. However, if I had to pick one, it would be participative performance art, especially projects by the Fluxus movement.”

You explore the idea of a game settled in the domestic space, does it help you exploring the art in a meaningful way?

‘The Great Neighbourhood of Happenstance Square’ is an ongoing project which, as you said, explores the idea of a game setting in a domestic environment (an apartment). On one hand, it is a game for the audience, played with chances, but on the other hand, it is also a real life Sims game for me, constructing and transforming a space into something completely different as I please. This is especially meaningful for me because I believe that art is about reflecting on our society we live in, and with the global pandemic, the indoor spaces have become most people’s little societies. By transforming the domestic environment I am reflecting on the ongoing situation that everyone is experiencing.

Would you mind telling us, How you describe the main narrative coming from your design pieces?

It is true that each piece even if inspired by existing functional objects is extremely twisted. Narratives of my work come from each object I work with. If you look at a vacuum and draw it one hundred times, how would it look like at the end? Maybe if you look everyday at this vacuum, it will transform into a curious creature, and you might even start to personify it… I really wanted to narrate this relationship between objects and individuals through my own prism and my naive aesthetic. My sculptures are often clumsy, absurd even grotesque, reflecting this aesthetic of mine! I’m hoping to show these works physically in our final degree show at the Royal College of Art in July ! Fingers crossed for a physical show!

“Maybe if you look everyday at this vacuum, it will transform into a curious creature, and you might even start to personify it…’.”

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Words by Katarzyna Korcz