Maëlle Dufour 

B. 1994, MONS – LIVES AND WORKS IN BRUSSELS, BELGIUM

Maëlle Dufour creates spatial art that questions progress at the heart of past, known, and future eras. She examines traces of the belief in progress, and thinks about layers of meaning in human evolution. Recurring themes are the archeology of waste that questions the legacy we leave for future generations, the living memory of a society in decline, and the resilience of people.

Using clay, mud, blue stone, ceramics, dust, waste, lead sheets, rectangular mirrors, and bright red blown glass throughout her oeuvre, an explosion of materials appears. Sometimes her works present as monumental ruins, moon-like volcanic landscapes, or narrow watchtowers. The physical confrontation between her work and the viewer is therefore often disruptive, with the size and weight of the pieces transcending or diminishing our human scale, reminding us of the fragility of our own existence.

Via her sculptural installations, the artist explores the valuable resources of past societies – material legacies left for future generations. She purposely questions origin, memory, and history. Between appearing and disappearing, her works resonate lived experiences that are inevitably erased by time. Across borders, histories, and cultures, her varied body of work anticipates a possible hopeful future, while humanity's survival seems to lean on the rhythm of transient civilizations.