Human faces can embody an era, with a unique expression that has travelled through the ages. Humans are all unique. They cross our paths by the thousands, by the millions. They can be loved ones, celebrities, or the anonymous people we come across in the city.

All are different and singular, yet they represent the oneness of Humanity. Every individual, every face and expression can be revealed through clay, pencil, paint or film… And each character can take part in the living creations of Marie Serruya. They engage all viewers, by questioning our heritage, our values, our world and our relationship to others.

In her unique world, bringing together emotion, humor and questioning, inspired by both the Iron Age and consumer society, Marie Serruya presents us with a multifaceted work. Small face masks seem to speak to each other and come alive via amazing electronic systems. 

Inspired as much by the Primary Arts and shrunken heads as by the Middle Ages and cinema, her videos have a contemporary rhythm and an aesthetic that recalls Jacques Tati. On the stage, a new interactive performance puts the spectator at the centre of their own raison d’être. 

In 2020, during the Parisian lockdowns, armed with a green background and accompanied by dancers, acrobats and actors, no matter the place, she changes scenery to give joy and lightness to passers-by who, on contact with them, smile magnificently and start dancing! In a creative, funny and sassy way, Marie Serruya confronts us with our singularity. She alerts us on the danger of conformity, and encourages us to express the uniqueness that allows us to make our choices and live free. Let’s laugh at ourselves, let’s tell our own myths and stories, let us exist, so our differences  can live and laugh together.

 

 

 

Hélène Poirier, author and art critic