Tiffany Bouelle on Artistry, Nature, and Emotion

Mixed Asian Media - October 29, 2024

By Bri Ng Schwartz

Tiffany Bouelle’s work is nothing short of serene. Her paintings and photography are overcome by botanicals and folklore. Heavily inspired by the calligraphy her grandfather taught her when she was a child, and currently inspired by motherhood, Tiffany’s exhibitions and personal projects can be found all over the world. MAM’s Bri Ng Schwartz spoke with Tiffany about her creative journey, her inspirations, and how her identity shapes her work.

*THIS INTERVIEW HAS BEEN LIGHTLY EDITED FOR CLARITY AND LENGTH.

Tell me about your first artistic endeavor.

In 2014, I held a casting call on Facebook inviting women to come to my studio for a photography session. For two hours, I asked them questions about the story of their bodies and their relationship with themselves. At the end of our interview, I asked them to leave me a secret on a piece of paper. I then drew on the photographs and shared fragments of their stories on a Tumblr blog, providing an opportunity for teenage girls to discover that they were not alone if they were struggling with self-issues. The secrets were individually wrapped in small packages, which I offered for sale to visitors at my first exhibition in 2018. At that time, women’s voices were not really liberated, and the topic of intimacy was still very taboo.

Can you share more about learning traditional calligraphy from your grandfather, and any lessons from that experience that still influence your art to this day?

Things happened very naturally. When I was a child, I spent two months in Japan with my grandfather, whom I considered my father. Being by his side, he taught me all his knowledge, and it was only after several years that I realized he had truly taught me a traditional practice that was precious to him. Today, I no longer do calligraphy in the strict sense. In 2020, I started using European tools and developed my own gestures and identity around this knowledge.

Much of your work features florals and greenery. Do you have any artistic practices or rituals that involve going into nature for inspiration? Could you share more about your process of pulling from nature?

Nature came into my life when I gave birth to my son. Feeling exhausted, I felt the need to express my own feelings through painting, a subject I had never explored before. The plants were born at that moment and, for me, represent a depiction of emotions and the fragility of the human soul. In nature, I see a vulnerability and a strength that moves me and follows me throughout my work.

For example, in July, I suddenly had time to rest for the first time in years. I created a series of unrealistic flowers representing tired flowers, hurried and lacking vitality. At times, they resemble muscles or torn dresses.

You have had several collaborations. What do you think makes a good collaborator?

A good collaborator is a client who has a deep understanding of my work and, like you, has done some research on my approach before reaching out to me. I would also say that it’s necessary for the collaboration’s subject to lead me toward a new exploration that stimulates and surprises me. This allows me to grow and sometimes even enriches my practice by pushing myself on projects that I wouldn’t have imagined undertaking.

Does anyone or anything in your life inspire you? 

I draw a lot from the artistic heritage I received as a child, particularly cinema, music, and smells. I am very sensitive to the cinematography of a film and to stories. I am always looking for places that teach me things and that have been playgrounds for artisans and artists. Music serves as a guide for the different characters I embody in my videos. I never produce my paintings by imagining them alone in a space, but always in a setting. I think big; I love worlds created by humans to invite them to dream.

How does your multicultural identity shape your work?

My two cultures embrace and collide constantly, like a passionate relationship.

Uplifting women’s voices is a mission in your work. What advice would you give to a young woman attempting to pursue their art professionally?

I’m not sure I’m the right person to give advice because I’m the first to ignore what others dictate to me. I see disobedience as an opportunity to change things. I am convinced that one’s artistic identity is born from perseverance and hard work, and that artistic comfort is uninteresting. Doing the same thing for years would make me feel like a machine. 

My work on women’s liberation was done to give them a voice, not mine. Today, I express myself more intimately through my painting, but that doesn’t make me someone who listens better than anyone else. All advice can be both good and bad. The key is to trust your own ideas and not rely on others. I don’t have more talent than other artists, but fortunately, I enjoy communicating about my passion, and because of that, I’m lucky enough to be able to paint every day. Because that’s my reason for living.

Tiffany’s solo exhibition is currently at Sugata Gallery in Kyoto until November 2024. Her work is also part of a group exhibition with STAY TUNED gallery at Hotel Zannier Le Châlet in Megève, France. An exhibition titled Under Your Spell began in mid-October Galerie Porte B in Paris. Learn more about Tiffany’s work at her website.