Diane and Jérémie form an artistic duo whose practice is built around the notions of matter, memory and trace. Their collaboration is born of a shared affinity for exploring forms and materials, and a constant dialogue between their respective sensibilities.

Immersed in an artistic residency in Montreal, the duo – whose complicity is as evident in their dynamic as in their practice – took advantage of this time-space to further their plastic research.

The birth of a duo

How did you start working together?

“We started with printed objects, books and paper. In 2016, we felt the need for a more joint project, so we spent a year in Buenos Aires. It’s a city that had a huge impact on us, particularly our relationship with tales, stories and narrative. Our way of working together began to be defined there, particularly color with our choice of palettes and the mediums we use.”

They began by producing printed images, which became the basis of their collaboration. The duo soon tried their hand at paper-cut stop-motion:

“We were making paper-cut sets and ended up with a lot of paper. That’s how the collages came about.“

Their visual language was gradually forged, using tinted paper and industrial colors, laying the foundations for an aesthetic that is still present in their work today. Among the artists who inspire them, Diane and Jérémie mention Shirley Jaffe, Paul Cox, Etel Adnan and Henri Matisse.

“Their approach to color, form and composition challenges us, each in their own way. There’s a tension between spontaneity and structure that speaks to us a lot. ”

The duo also maintain a practice of constant observation: they photograph, draw, collect samples and take notes.

Photographs from Diane Marissal’s observation notebook

Methodology, rigor and daily routine: the work of an ant

Behind the apparent spontaneity of their production, Diane and Jérémie adopt a rigorous, almost daily work discipline.

How do you go about your day-to-day work?

“We have a way of working that means we produce a lot of images on a daily basis. We work every day, it’s almost like training. There’s a kind of rigor in our work that’s very important, it’s a daily grind. We’re very studious, very good students.”

“The systematic starting point in our work is to sit down around a table, with a sheet of paper and a pencil, and write. We make lots of to-do lists. We’re the kings of to-do lists.“

This organization enables them to maintain a high degree of fluidity while exploring their ideas. Their duo functions as a complementary pair. Their process translates into a fluid exchange, nourished by shared references but also by productive disagreements. This work dynamic, both demanding and complicit, enables them to build a shared visual language, based on perseverance, precision and listening.

A residency as a space for experimentation

For Diane and Jérémie, each residency is an opportunity to establish a new creative framework. They devise precise devices, often nourished by writing, which guide the conception of their works and even influence the titles they choose. Their tools, their mediums, the way they collaborate with four hands: everything is designed so that the constraint becomes the starting point for experimentation.

In Montreal, this logic gave rise to a central piece in the exhibition: an in situ work entitled Un monde au creux de notre main, created specifically for the first room. They wanted to make their process visible: the repetitions, the variations, the research around the motif. Designed around the dimensions of the piece, it brings together 107 fragments selected from a larger production, illustrating their desire to exhaust their formal vocabulary to the point of revealing what runs through it in depth.

Far from hindering their creativity, these constraints act as triggers. It is within this structured framework that they find their freedom, and that their work becomes truly playful and stimulating.

“For us, constraint is really the first field of experimentation. We set ourselves a lot of rules, and that’s when the fun starts.” says Jérémie.

The current exhibition marks a milestone in the duo’s career, notably with the introduction of painting as their central medium. Until now, their pictorial works have been presented in an ad hoc manner. This time, they occupy a structuring place in the spatial arrangement, revealing a progression from the small to the gigantic, from collage to painting, via suspended installations. This transition to painting was built up gradually, notably through the mural experience.

“This is the first time we’ve presented a painting as a centerpiece. Painting is a bit scary… Are we legitimate? Are we doing it because we’re artists and an artist has to paint?”

For Diane and Jérémie, painting implies a complex relationship of legitimacy, so much so that the medium carries a strong, almost intimidating history. Coming from the printed image, which is perceived as modest and fragile, this shift to painting constitutes a new affirmation: that of appropriating this space with their own tools, language and method, without conforming to an academic model, but relying on their personal and shared convictions.

The title as a narrative space

For Diane and Jérémie, the title plays a central role in the creative process. Although they generally refuse to give a direct interpretation of their works, they consider the title to be a clue. It is the only narrative element they choose to make visible, like a discreet thread linking the viewer to their universe.

Diane, who is constantly jotting down fragments of sentences gleaned from her readings, likes to take words out of context and give them a new meaning, in the manner of their artwork. Jérémie, for his part, often prefers to name his pieces after they have been created, according to what he perceives once the image has been created. Both enjoy the tension between text and image, which they exploit to make their work more complex to read.

A message to remember

Behind the visual richness of their work, Diane and Jérémie have a clear intention: that the public should enter the exhibition without fear and leave with a sense of softness.
In Chasser les fantômes, this desire is fully embodied. The title of the exhibition raises questions about the function of these forms: are they here to hold ghosts, or to chase them away? Their obsessive motifs, vibrant colors and recurring compositions act as echoes of our own obsessions, familiar objects and persistent memories. In this ambiguity, they seek to awaken a fresh perspective on what surrounds us, a way of rediscovering the mundane with wonder. In the manner of Fernand Léger or Matisse, they explore the beauty of the everyday. And if we need reminding: color isn’t just for kids, and joy doesn’t exclude complexity and depth.