Maxine: A Call for Toleration

Hi Maxine. To start off with, can you tell us how and when your artistic career began?

The first time I was asked to display my work in public was in 2017. I remember the director of the creative hub I was working at at the time, the “Rumah Sanur“ in Bali, saying: “You are a fantastic graphic designer, but where you excel, is in art“. 

He asked me to make a fresco for the entrance of the building we worked in, at the same time urging me to stop graphic design and dedicate myself entirely to art. That was the starting point for me. Bali was the perfect place to start a new career path, seeing new opportunities popping up everywhere and there was a great deal of open-mindedness, too.

I didn’t feel pressured by the artistic expectations like I did back in France. There wasn’t the same level of scrutiny or snobbiness that I felt back home; no need to have put in years of experience, to create a solid narrative, a network, to have gone to a prestigious art school, to quickly gain commercial success. 

There are a great deal of influences in your art, such as Indonesian Art, nude drawing, Street Art, Sculpture… where do all these come from?

When it comes to Indonesian Art, it’s quite simple; I went to live there after I finished my degree in visual communication. I fell in love with all the various patterns on the traditional cloths and fabrics. They told the story of the locals and their day to day lives with a somewhat simple and primitive visual language, and I found that truly inspiring. 

When it comes to nudes and sculpture, I think that stems back to the first time I ever visited the Louvre, when I was 14. I fell in love with Rodin’s sculptures and Ingres’ paintings. I found it truly incredible the way a body distorted in various postures could express so much. Being rather introverted myself, I imagine I saw parallels with my own life and the difficulties I have expressing myself verbally. 

I also greatly enjoy murals, like the ones made in the name of Street Art. The precision, the technique, the impact that they can have on an urban landscape, whether they be purely aesthetic in nature or if they have a deeper message behind them. I love how accessible they are, that everyone is able to enjoy them. 

What do the recurring faces and silhouettes in your work represent? What story do they tell?

It’s our bodies talking, reminding us that we are nothing more than mere specks of dust travelling through the cosmos, completely fleeting, slaves to the unstoppable cycle of life, the laws of nature, just like leaves carried by the wind. 

I try to be inclusive in my work. The silhouettes I create are somewhat genderless, to the point that we can’t really distinguish whether we’re looking at men or women, with no discernable facial expressions.

"It’s a sort of call for toleration, returning to what truly matters, but also a call for humility."

We all have our own fears and weaknesses, and above all, a yearning for love, affection and validation. We can all be very intelligent but also incredibly stupid at the same time. Capable of creating beautiful masterpieces or horrific disasters. But at the end of the day, we’re nothing more than fleeting specks of dust in the grand scheme of things. 

Which artists, specifically female artists, have inspired you and continue to inspire you today?

Yayoi Kusama. On the one hand, I adore the way she plays with proportions and scale and the way she creates optical illusions that play with our minds. On the other hand, she must have had staggering amounts of willpower to have paved her way through the incredibly patriarchal and hierarchical Japanese society in which she grew up in; not to mention living her formative years in a country at war. 

Thinking of her, of her penchant for provocation, of her fearlessness, motivates me and comforts me in times when I doubt myself or the choices I make. My mother has always been my number one fan and supported my career choice, allowing me to do my studies in the world of art and creation. 

Then, in terms of people who inspire me the most, I’d have to go with Banksy. No one can really say if he’s a man or a woman! His ability to stay anonymous is a big factor, but especially the way he (or she) is able to produce such provocative and castigating pieces which are all steeped in social commentary on the human condition, and does so with extremely simple but effective imagery. 

Do you think that being a female artist can be considered an opportunity or a burden?

Neither. If you want it, go get it. 

It’s true that there is an undeniable reality concerning women's place in art. Until not too long ago, the space was largely dominated by men. You mustn’t forget that our society is built on values created by pioneers of the Enlightenment - in other words, rich, white men who believed they, and they alone, held the keys to culture, truth and knowledge in western society. 

So yes, we women artists don’t always have it easy - especially when you’re a mother - because society tells us to work as if we have no children, and then raise them as if we had no work. 

It's also interesting to mention that the term “work“ is never associated with the term “artist“, because our system has brainwashed us into thinking of work as hard labour, that it must be arduous and never a source of pleasure. 

For the longest time I needed validation from other people, saying that it could be possible to do what I do, that I had talent and promise, in order to convince myself that I could be both artist and mother. It’s funny, today we almost hear more about female artists than any other, it’s baffling the amount of magazines that have promoted us over the last 3 years. 

Some gallery owners even receive commissions from Mayors’ offices for displaying female artists’ works. I often feel like it’s become a marketing tool, in order to come across as progressive and liberal. But the good side does mean that things are more well-balanced now. Little by little, we’re changing mindsets.