Vergues Nadine

A sensational turn of events

One day, on a beautiful day, a windy day, a rainy day, her whole life was to be changed by a strange encounter - in the middle of a pile of industrial rubbish! “One day, by chance”, she says, “I came across a piece of industrial felt, the stuff you use, among other things, to insulate cars. This discovery came as a shock, and I realized that day that I was to be a sculptor. All I had to do was to find out how to use this rough, rudimentary substance. It was love at first sight. I developed a new vocabulary and a technique. Adapting the tools that are usually used for iron and wood, a soldering iron became my right hand. I would burn, distort and corrode the felt, mistreat and slash it, and using automatic gestures I would create a story. Since then, inhabited by an irrepressible frenzy of creation, I have worked tirelessly. Today, this substance holds no secrets to me; the war is no longer between the two of us, we are allied for the best. The war is now against time and I have tocatch up.”

Poetic ? Political !

Nadine Vergues sees what other people don’t see. Where others see an object, trash, dirt or depression, she sees life, potential, hope. From out of the rubbish she makes ghostly beings emerge, who tell of their suffering, solitude, revolt, sharing and love. She gives a voice to armies of humans who have been reduced to silence. Her work is eminently political, she fights against misguided beliefs and clichés. It’s impossible to tie her down or give her a label. She uses textiles, yes, but industrial textiles, and moulds them with a welder’s tools. Her sculptures are imposing and yet light. Light? Yes, but not fragile, and also resistant in every sense of the term, for they will resist to fashion, to time, and to the transience of a moment. “Every day I dig deep into my heart,” says Nadine. “I am profoundly sincere in every act and each item I make, without being deceitful or condescending to anyone or to anything. I am free and authentic.” Nadine Vergue’s creation expresses the power which is buried in the hearts of people, the revolt of the excluded and degraded who use their hands and creative energy to express themselves. It’s not surprising that people in other continents are interested in her work and that her sculptures are to be sent abroad; they speak to the universal soul and the heart of humanity.

Nadine Vergues