Julien Creuzet was born in the Parisian suburb, grew up in Martinique and now lives and works in Paris.
2023 Biennial Year Find out more
His practice starts from his own lived experience as an echo on collective social realities of the Caribbean diaspora, focusing on the troubled intersection between Caribbean histories and European modernity. Creuzet describes his ancestral home, Martinique, as “the heart of my imagination” and the visual and aural languages that collide in his installations migrate and transform through a process of creolisation, entering into a dialogue with the question of emancipation, a spirit of black affirmation and the feeling of his diasporic experience. He has developed a multi-disciplinary practice interweaving poetic, sensory and social forms via amalgams of sculpture, installation, video, sound and textual intervention.
The artist graduated from the School of Fine Arts in Caen, the Post-Diploma in Fine Arts at the Lyon Academy and the Fresnoy-Studio national des - arts contemporains. Creuzet’s recent solo exhibitions include: Luma Arles, France (2022), Camden Art Centre, London, United Kingdom (2022), Centre Pompidou for the Prix Marcel Duchamp, Paris, France (2021), Document, Chicago (2021), Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France (2019).
Liverpool Biennial 2023
“Orpheus was musing upon braised words, under the light rain of a blazing fog, snakes are deaf and dumb anyway, oblivion buried in the depths of insomnia” (2022)
Creuzet sees the different pieces exhibited here as parts of one whole – they speak together as one opera or ecosystem, through which the artist reflects on the legacy of Afro-Caribbean and Creole philosophical thought and literary production. The titles of the works are extracts from poems Creuzet himself wrote, which question how time and geographical location are fundamental to understanding cultural production and references.
The works address Creuzet’s relationship to his ancestral home of Martinique, the diasporic experience, and the history of French colonialism. Creuzet’s work is inspired by the poetic and philosophical reflections of French Martinican intellectuals Aimé Césaire and Édouard Glissant on creolisation (the process by which elements of different cultures are blended to create a new culture)
Creuzet sees the different pieces exhibited here as parts of one whole – they speak together as one opera or ecosystem, through which the artist reflects on the legacy of Afro-Caribbean and Creole philosophical thought and literary production. The titles of the works are extracts from poems Creuzet himself wrote, which question how time and geographical location are fundamental to understanding cultural production and references. The works address Creuzet’s relationship to his ancestral home of Martinique, the diasporic experience, and the history of French colonialism. Creuzet’s work is inspired by the poetic and philosophical reflections of French Martinican intellectuals Aimé Césaire and Édouard Glissant on creolisation (the process by which elements of different cultures are blended to create a new culture) and migration, focusing on the troubled intersection of the history of Martinique and the events of European modernity. Creuzet’s sculptural forms and layered images function as an intimate and powerful exploration of many worlds brought together. Images from diverse sources, including historical African sculptures, abstract landscapes and compositions inspired by engravings and paintings from other artists, compose a pathway between hanging objects and moving images. They are layered and positioned to reflect on the way in which histories can be markers for change and resistance. Showing at Tobacco Warehouse
“Orpheus was musing upon braised words, under the light rain of a blazing fog, snakes are deaf and dumb anyway, oblivion buried in the depths of insomnia” (2022)
Showing at Tobacco Warehouse
Wednesday - Sunday 10am - 6pm-
Julien Creuzet. Liverpool Biennial 2023 at Tobacco Warehouse. Courtesy of Liverpool Biennial. Photography by Mark McNulty
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Julien Creuzet. Liverpool Biennial 2023 at Tobacco Warehouse. Courtesy of Liverpool Biennial. Photography by Mark McNulty
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Julien Creuzet. Liverpool Biennial 2023 at Tobacco Warehouse. Courtesy of Liverpool Biennial. Photography by Mark McNulty
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Julien Creuzet. Liverpool Biennial 2023 at Tobacco Warehouse. Courtesy of Liverpool Biennial. Photography by Mark McNulty
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Julien Creuzet. Liverpool Biennial 2023 at Tobacco Warehouse. Courtesy of Liverpool Biennial. Photography by Mark McNulty
