Eromorphosis

In "Eromorphosis, Souls in Bloom," created following a residency at Villa Noailles, Valentin Ranger offers a poetic stroll within this unique building designed in the early 1920s by modernist architect Robert Mallet-Stevens. Guided by Marie-Laure de Noailles, patron and emblematic figure of Surrealism, the viewer discovers a profusion of sculptural installations, theatrical stagings, and transformations of all kinds celebrating the diversity of bodies. Here, they take the form of hybrid creatures inspired by garden flowers, heralding the birth of a new species, more united and connected to new narratives.

"My research delves into the workings of the body and its interactions with the environment, on both quantum and macroscopic levels, encompassing the carnal and the spiritual. 3D technology enables me to construct an ecosystem that magnifies our mutations and fluidity. My residency at Villa Noailles was dedicated to the Héros/Héroïnes exhibition, where I showcased a series of drawings. During this residency, I discovered an architecture and energy that deeply inspired me. The architecture of the place echoes that of a ship, which I envisioned as a vessel flying through the cosmos. It was the perfect setting to narrate the creation of new body forms, drawing on the diversity and sensuality of flowers to deconstruct our highly normative Western view. In my work, biomorphic subjects draw from magic, from phantasmagoria; they are strange and complex, and there are no rules preventing them from loving. For me, the virtual realm is a new stage for all our transitioning bodies." — Valentin Ranger, 2021

This piece has been exhibited at the 35th Festival de Hyères, Villa Noailles (2020); La Fab, Paris (2022); Centre d’Art de Vitry sur Seine - Galerie Jean Collet (2022); and Hôtel des Arts, Toulon (2023).