The imaginary world of Mathieu Sorosina

Earth and paper,

welcome to Mathieu's
imaginary world

Discussion with Mathieu sorosina,
co-founder of olow

Today we're taking you outside the OLOW sphere, where he is responsible for the artistic direction of the collections, among other things. To discover a funny and sensitive imaginary world, which he fashions with his hands over countless hours.

Because yes, apart from the enormous creativity for the brand that he has been giving over the last 17 years, Mathieu is above all a huge fan of art, in all its forms. An enthusiast of manual work, today he opens the doors to one of his favourite outlets.

Where does your passion for art come from?

I think it goes back to my childhood. I grew up in La Maladrerie in Aubervilliers, a neighbourhood that was home to quite a few artists' studios, whose children were my friends. So when we went to each other's houses I was surrounded by art in all its forms, with the paintings of Jacky Langagne, the sculptures of Rachid Khimoune's Enfants du monde and the photographs of Pierre Terrasson.

Why choose ceramics?

No idea ... I signed up for a workshop a while ago, just to try and express myself and free my mind, and right away clay and I hit it off. The return to clay... the memory of modelling clay... and of course the pleasure of making something with my hands.

What are your influences?

I don't really know if we can talk about influences, but in any case what gives me sensory well-being would be roughly summed up here:

Metallica / Basquiat / Tal R / Neil Young / Eric Croes / Véronique Sanson / Florian Krewer / Richard Woods / Landes / Peter Fischli and David Weiss / Japan / Salman Toor / Jullien's brothers (Jean and Nico) / Raymond Savignac / Rage Against The Machine / Susumu Kamijo / David Hockney / the Beastie / Cyclades / Stefan Rinck / Iron Maiden / lions / Sepultura / Anastasia Bay / Renaud / Katherine Bradford / Mrzyk & Moriceau / Finistère / Amadou and Mariam / Shinya Azuma / Souad Massi / giraffes / Bashung / Ben Crase / Led Zep / Colin J Radcliffe / whales / Beirut / Pushead / Black Keys / Charlie Roberts / Bob Marley / Aneta Kajzer / Motorhead / Roberto Gil de Montes / Damien Hirst ... yeah, all the animals actually, it's quicker, the whole of Noah's Ark. Pour some rum over the whole thing and you've got a cocktail that's probably just right for me. You can of course add a few Haribo's of course.

Well, I've tried to keep it simple and effective - I could have used so many in fact.

Can you tell us about your work and your creative process?

I'm very instinctive in my creative process. Even if I know in broad terms what I want to sculpt, ideas very often come to me during the creative process.

This often leads to strange and unusual creations such as a ‘Pigeon car’, a ‘Fisher fish’ or a ‘Tongue cactus’.

Choosing ceramics as a working material allows you to really get to grips with the moment. It can be made and unmade, it allows for error and experimentation.

The theme of the collection is the Canopy, so what is your connection with the forest?

I have quite a strong bond with it. I spent a large part of my youth living close to it, wandering around it, living in it, for several weeks in the summers, a few days in the winters, without ever letting it go. We're a bit further apart now, but I keep her close to me and try to visit her whenever I can.

Choosing ceramics as a working material allows you to really get to grips with the moment.

What techniques and materials did you use for these pieces?

For the creation of ‘canopée’ I wanted from the outset to be able to link two different mediums, ceramics and papier-mâché, as well as two distinct forest elements, the plant and the animal.

I wanted to create something made entirelý from natural materials. Alreadỳ in my head I thought that the mix between the rough side of terracotta and the messier, more fragile aspect of paper could bring a certain balance.

Thinking further, what could be more logical than having the trees in papier-mâché́ and the animals sculpted in clay.

Where can we see your work?

At the moment, four sculptures I've made in connection with the ‘Canopée’ collection can be seen at the OLOW boutique in Paris until mid-February, and I hope one day to be able to show more pieces in a dedicated space. Wait and See, as they say.

@mathieu_olow