Camille Henrot’s artistic practice is deeply rooted in drawing, an activity that has been a part of her daily routine since childhood.
The French artist is known for her diverse body of work, which spans film, sculpture, painting, and performance. However, it’s the simple act of picking up a brush that forms the foundation of her creativity. Henrot has been drawing with calligraphy brushes since she was a child, fascinated by the challenge posed by the extended bristles.
Over time, she has experimented with various types of brushes, using them to create rapid, gestural sketches that can be joyous, farcical, sensual, or macabre. The magic of these images lies in their immediacy, but finding the space to engage in such a ritual can be tricky, especially with a time-poor schedule.
Drawing is essential to Henrot’s daily routine.
During the pandemic, Henrot found it particularly challenging to dedicate time to drawing, as she had a small child and lost her studio. To overcome this, she began building a reference library of brushes and brushstrokes, allowing her to access different techniques more quickly. This library, which now populates the walls of her New York studio, consists of a diverse range of tools, including delicate feathers, densely packed paddles, and whiskery fans.
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Some of these brushes were acquired in specialist stores, while others were purchased during her travels to Asia, where she discovered brushes with synthetic centers that offer a unique flexibility. Henrot’s collection also includes brushes made from unusual materials, such as pheasant feathers, chicken feathers, peacock feathers, and hair from raccoons, goats, squirrels, and horses.
She recalls being inspired by a trip to Japan, where she visited a dedicated brush shop with her curator, Shino Nomura. The shop was filled with an astonishing array of materials, including cat hair. Beyond her extensive collection, Henrot often modifies her brushes to better suit her needs, trimming bristles or experimenting with different materials.
In one instance, a glue spillage irreparably hardened a brush, but she discovered that the resulting line was interesting and unique. For Henrot, the process of creating art is not about finding a straightforward solution but about exploring different techniques and challenges. She believes that using various brushes can force her into a new creative space, preventing her from relying on the same old solutions.
Her collection is a vital part of her artistic process.
In 2021, Henrot suffered a broken arm, which forced her to adapt her creative process. She decided to digitize her binder of brushstrokes, creating a hand-wrought companion guide to her physical brush library. This array of individual swatches captures the distinct capabilities of every implement, from delicate spatters to dense, angular lines.
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Produced as both negative and positive images, these brushstrokes were then manufactured as vinyl stickers, becoming part of a wider, strangely uncanny surface of cuts, scrapes, and vector graphics. Henrot used these brushstrokes as a mask, or a layer within a painting, experimenting with a method of stenciling often used in digital editing.
Henrot has continued this line of inquiry with a series of mixed-media paintings that draw on various personal archives, including photographs, old bank statements, and pages from etiquette books owned by her mother. These works are currently on show at The Perimeter in London, alongside a selection of her daily drawings, which can be seen as a form of soulful style contrast.
At the root of Henrot’s practice is the relationship between her hand and the production of an image, a connection that is both intrinsic and expressive. Her use of different brushes and techniques allows her to explore this relationship in various ways, creating a diverse and complex body of work. By comparing her approach to that of other artists who have experimented with unconventional materials and techniques, it becomes clear that Henrot’s work is part of a larger tradition of innovation and creativity.
Her willingness to challenge herself and push the boundaries of what is possible with different brushes and media has resulted in a unique and captivating body of work. Camille Henrot’s exhibition at The Perimeter in London offers a unique opportunity to see her work up close and experience the equilibrium of her practice, which is both complex and expressive.
More information can be found at the Perimeter’s website.
