artist/ Madame Tomate

France

To talk about my creative process, I’d say that as a photographer, my raw material is the body. My work revolves around staging, sometimes through the accumulation of objects, sometimes through abstraction. I work by “playing”; I seek out atypical locations (sometimes building fake sets) or use various props, with the aim of creating fictional characters who will embody their own story. But my main character, the one who is omnipresent in my work, remains the body.

For this 2025 edition, I’d like to propose two of my photo series entitled “Paperdoll” and “Peau de Peinture”. Both relate to clothing, which hides or sublimates the body. I play with materials to create the illusion of a clothed body.

“Paperdoll” echoes the sweet memory of my childhood games, drawing books and dolls with which I could play for hours and create a whole wardrobe according to my desires. Here, I play with cardboard instead of clothes. I’m creating the illusion of clothing with a universal material that’s everywhere in our daily lives. Cardboard is often used for protection or packaging; this material has no value in our eyes, but here I’m trying to sublimate it, like a child dressing up in whatever she can find. This makes the child’s dream of becoming the woman she wants accessible.

For “Peau de Peinture”, I use the material directly on the naked body. Through painting, I choose to get as close as possible to the skin, to the body. Once again, I play with the illusion and deception of clothing, which draws the line between self-acceptance and the outside gaze. Because, despite the infinite possibilities of our clothing choices, we often have to face those gazes that can pierce us, those that see us naked, even if we’re dressed.

These two series are linked by this same process of illusion, but also by the singularity and mystery of their characters. Because even if my work is reflected in the game, it’s important for me to present the feminine as a major, strong subject. Whether hidden, magnified or hijacked, it’s thanks to her that I can continually invent and create my poetry.