Ariane Toussaint is currently in residency at Bucharest AiR (RO) until July 3rd 2023.

The work 'The Poetics of Space' comes together through researching childhood and learning processes and in particular in the combination of touching, seeing, and understanding in children's books. By following her explorations in tactility and her love of working with fabrics, Ariane Toussaint creates a gigantic book whose pages are in fact blankets. The book-bed is made of found fabrics that recall quilts and children's book illustrations; it is a sculptural and performative piece that calls for moments of tenderness and warmth. The work is part of a bigger research inspired by the eponymous book of Gaston Bachelard that explores home as a space for personal cosmology.

For the exhibition 'A Typo in the Book of the Self' Ariane creates a site-specific patchwork inspired by traditional Bulgarian textiles. By being in dialogue with the textile book, the patchwork contributes to creating a space for the exploration of child-like tactility and comfort.

Installation view during 'A Typo in the Book of the Self', group exhibition with a.o. Harita Asumani, DAMO and Anna Haifisch, curators Yana Abrasheva and Vasil Vladimirov, at KO-OP / FIG. TREE, Sofia (BG), 2023. Project funded by Culture Moves Europe. Image credits: Veliko Balabanov / Ariane Toussaint.

A set of 19 aprons designed and silkscreened in collaboration with Zahari Dimitrov, on the occasion of the exhibition opening 'A Typo in the Book of the Self' at KO-OP, during the festival FIG. TREE, Sofia (BG). Inspired by a souvenir flag commemorating a congress of the Bulgarian Communist Party; and traditional Bulgarian aprons. Each of the four sides of the apron has a word in cyrillic, which translates as: art; childhood; books; together.

The apron is made of cotton and linnen and the edges are machine hemmed. The ties are made from black and red braids, worked in knitting wool. Each apron is 50 x 50 cm.

If you are interested in buying one please contact Ariane here: arianejudithtoussaint@gmail.com

Reading at Cneai (National Centre for Contemporary Arts), Paris, FR, 2022. This event was part of the exhibition The Walls.

An open door reveals a piece of my great-aunt Claudine's atypical interior, where a horror vacui hides family secrets that have been carried through the generations.

“What I’m going to tell you is no fun. I’ll tell you about death, suffering, trauma and pain. But I will also tell you about love and human relationships—about the kind of love that I have for my aunt, for my whole family. I can’t help but yearn for physical touch, for warm hugs that are almost so suffocating, but somehow feel so good. There is love in my family, but it is not expressed.”

With this work the artist follows her explorations in tactility and her love to working with fabrics. The Poetics of Space is a gigantic book whose pages are in fact blankets. It invites adults, as well as children, to play, lay, sleep and dream. The book-bed is made of found fabrics that recall quilts and children book illustrations; it is a sculptural and performative piece that calls for moments of tenderness and warmth. The work is part of a bigger research inspired by the eponymous book of Gaston Bachelard that explores home as a space for a personal cosmology.

Installation view at Art Au Centre, Luik (Liège) (BE), 2022

With this work the artist follows her explorations in tactility and her love to working with fabrics. The Poetics of Space is a gigantic book whose pages are in fact blankets. It invites adults, as well as children, to play, lay, sleep and dream. The book-bed is made of found fabrics that recall quilts and children book illustrations; it is a sculptural and performative piece that calls for moments of tenderness and warmth. The work is part of a bigger research inspired by the eponymous book of Gaston Bachelard that explores home as a space for a personal cosmology.

Installation view at The Grey Space in the Middle, The Hague (NL), 2022

Twenty-eight handmade paper fans, each with a unique design, for the award-winning students of the Royal Academy of Art The Hague Graduation Show 2021, made in collaboration with Zahari Dimitrov

Photographs credits Emma Grimma and Stan Heerkens.

Royal Academy of Art The Hague Graduation Show 2021 Campaign made in collaboration with Zahari Dimitrov

"Our campaign triggers an explosion, a curiosity, attention to something precious and a wish to explore. Reflecting upon our own experiences while studying at the KABK was our main fuel. The campaign bridges both the wild, experimental, and subtle, reflective modes of studying. By mixing archival and original visuals from scientific, fictitious and primary sources, our campaign recalls the cycles of time. It symbolizes the rite of passage, where the current generation invites another to take its place."

"What I’m going to tell you is no fun. I’ll tell you about death, suffering, trauma and pain. But I will also tell you about love and human relationships—about the kind of love that I have for my aunt, for my whole family. I can’t help but yearn for physical touch, for warm hugs that are almost so suffocating, but somehow feel so good. There is love in my family, but it is not expressed. Above all: not too much hugging... kissing—sometimes. I love to hug my brothers, my mother, and my father. My father and I went out for dinner the other day, it was great... when we came home, I would’ve loved a proper hug. Not just a quick kiss goodnight. My project speaks of trauma and darkness. However it is here to liberate speech, create a warm feeling, become a proof of love."

Performative installation connected to the book 'Chapter 2—Claudine'

'By Silence' is the story of a man whose parents lost a daughter, before he was born. He asked me to write the story to break the taboo. I wondered: where was this sister? Was she present by her evanescence? How could the photographic medium show this absence? The work weaves a relationship to trauma, which has no place in the past and remains a constant present. A publication narrates the story of the family, and the installation with fabrics that catch and obstruct light suggests the unveiling of a secret.

Installation view at the Royal Academy of Art graduation exhibition, The Hague (NL), 2020. Photographs credits Ariane Toussaint & Ira Grünberger.

Watch here a documentary about the work (Thomas Troadec/ Agence Catalpa)

Performative reading at Page Not Found, The Hague, NL, 2020. This event was part of Hoogtij#60.

"What I’m going to tell you is no fun. I’ll tell you about death, suffering, trauma and pain. But I will also tell you about love and human relationships—about the kind of love that I have for my aunt, for my whole family. I can’t help but yearn for physical touch, for warm hugs that are almost so suffocating, but somehow feel so good. There is love in my family, but it is not expressed. Above all: not too much hugging... kissing—sometimes. I love to hug my brothers, my mother, and my father. My father and I went out for dinner the other day, it was great... when we came home, I would’ve loved a proper hug. Not just a quick kiss goodnight. My project speaks of trauma and darkness. However it is here to liberate speech, create a warm feeling, become a proof of love."

The text of the book Chapter 2—Claudine has been presented at the following events:

Reading at Cneai (National Centre for Contemporary Arts), event part of the exhibition 'The Walls', Paris, FR, 2022.
Unseen platform, photography festival, Amsterdam, NL, 2019.
Manic Words - Off the Page, poetry event, The Hague, NL, 2019.
'Forgetful Number presents: a series of contradictions', group exhibition, The Hague, NL, 2019.

My grandmother is aging, her mind sometimes blows away and she looks fearfully gone for a moment. The fear of losing her made me realize I only knew her through her family role and ignored her as a being. I digged into her collection of objects, fabrics and photographs, looking for patterns I could recognize and that would help me to feel and record her essence. She saw me growing up and gave to me her passion for fabrics and small details. The photographs are both a tribute to her and an autobiographical investigation questioning the weight of family and the border between life and death.

Installation view at Nest, The Hague, 2017