Gowns

Text by Sophie Guillermin: Lise Bouissière draws a particular fascination with creating from unwanted objects. She collects ephemeral objects and gives them grandeur by mounting them onto surreal volumes. Enamoured with London, it is no coincidence that her sculptures call to mind city cranes from the London skyline, almost grown from the ground. If you pass by Soho (London), you'll see Lise's latest piece, Gowns. It evokes the ever-evolving power of nature. Lise picks up wood, flowers and feathers found from her walks in Hyde Park and engages in a unique assembling process where each element stands in an intricate balance of discretion and majesty. The title of the piece, Gowns, stems from the idea of dressing up with a myriad of precious and interchangeable ornaments. What stimulates Lise the most is the infinite surprise that comes from this construction, a construction that keeps reinventing itself indefinitely and whose essence is rooted in transformability. Text by the curators: The Smallest Gallery in Soho is delighted to present a new installation by London-based artist Lise Bouissière Gowns—a transformable sculpture made of salvaged branches that can be dressed in an infinity of materials. Wild herbs, feathers, little flowers, and fallen leaves are elements that cover the main structure, forming a modulable 3D landscape extracted from its surrounding environment. Due to its transformability and because it is made of found material, the sculpture questions the themes of regeneration, ephemerality and infinity. The piece embodies the balance of opposite scales between the opulent branch skeleton and the tiny plants fixed on it. Gowns is an invitation to explore our natural environment and pay attention to its most discreet and delicate elements. It echoes the London cityscape in constant evolution in which cranes could be compared to giant insects. The sculpture will evolve during the time of the exhibition. Materials: Salvaged branches, dried flowers, feathers, and wild herbs.