JOËL ANDRIANOMEARISOA

Urban space is a primary interest as well. The noises, smells, images, lights and incessant movement that generate city life compose his universe without imprisoning him in a specific geographical space. His images take viewers to places even the artist does not expect to be. “I need to be surprised by images. The situation has to be completely staggered. I do not consider myself as a photographer ; I am someone who makes images” he says.

To compose a work, the artist needs a basic frame. Then the experiments begin, the manipulations that outline the project. ‘The work arises from various manipulations that lead me to the final result. When I set up an installation, I do not imagine its finality. I know the elements that compose it, but in the intant I set them up I discover something else. And that is when the work makes sense,’ Andrianomearisoa says. His poetic virtuosity lies in his capacity to seize this moment of signification, when nobody can tell beginning from end.

– Virginie Andriamirado.

Joël Andrianomearisoa was born in Antananarivo, Madagascar, in 1977. He lives and works between Antananarivo and Paris. Andrianomearisoa has participated in a number of group shows, including Africa Remix, Rencontres Africaine de la Photographie in Bamako, 2009; the Havana Biennale (2006); The progress of love, Menil Collection, Houston, 2012; and Divine Comedy, 2014 among others.

His solo shows include Bir Gece, a one-night performance and installation in Istanbul, 2004; Habillé - Deshabillé, a performance/video piece in Stockholm Moderna Museet and Saint-Brieuc, 2009; Sentimental at la Maison Revue Noire Paris, 2013.

Courtesy Sabrina Amrani