Céline Clément was born in Lorraine in 1984 and, as a child, loved to observe and sketch the world around her, especially ponies and the flowers in the family garden. She began painting seriously at the age of 16 and received her diploma in 2008.
As an exam art project at the School of Fine Arts in Metz, Céline contacted PMAF (the French branch of Compassion in World Farming), to learn more about the conditions under which farmed animals are raised. Six months later, she produced a series of paintings entitled « Our friends the humans », a world in which the roles of people and animals are reversed. Both disturbing and amusing, the pictures reveal the unease often existing in relationships with other animals which lies at the heart of society: the hunt, the bullfight, the fur trade, hens in batteries, the circus…
Céline Clément says:
We’ve lost sight of the fact that animals are sentient beings. My pictures are supposed to be sweet and childlike, so as not to provoke rejection by the public, which often turns away from images which are too graphic. I wanted to create works which are more light-hearted, colourful, falsely naïve, so that people of all ages might see them, notice the details… and understand the message.
The series « Nos amis les hommes » can be viewed on Céline Clément’s site, at www.celineclement.com
Many thanks to Celine for allowing us to display your work!
Ce matin, un lapin - this morning, a rabbit.
Acrylic on wood, 60 x 80 cm.
Dresseur dresse - trainer trained.
Acrylic on wood, 60 x 80 cm.
L'art du combat - the art of combat.
Acrylic on wood, 60 x 80 cm.