Michel François

Michel François (b. 1956, Sint Truiden, Belgium) terms himself a sculptor but his oeuvre also comprises photographs, video works and installations. In his earlier photographic work from the 1980s and 1990s he turned his camera on people in motion, turning or jumping, or on people interacting with objects, for instance putting on a sweater or throwing a ball.

François’s parents – his father a painter and his mother a dancer and sculptor — influenced his artwork, which seems to hover somewhere between the two and three-dimensional. He is principally interested in
signs of life, such as everyday customs, habits, images, sounds and gestures.

François’s work could be characterised as having poetic simplicity, in both concept and execution. In his art he uses or photographs everyday objects in such a way that they take on a double meaning, for instance because they evoke personal or poetic associations. The way in which he is able to make the tactile visible, or even palpable, is also remarkable.

His photographs trigger senses other than just the visual, or they stimulate the viewer by evoking subconscious images – a tree trunk may look like an animal, or holes in the sleeves of a sweater become eyes.