Born in Morteau, France in , French-American artist Jean—Pierre Sergent is known for work that explores the subconscious, fuses the stylistic elements of different civilisations to reveal timeless and universal truths about the human condition, and often recycles seemingly trashy popular imagery into something more epic. I had a long discussion with him this month—on France, the role of rites and rituals, capitalism and much more.
I identified both a width and a depth in your expression. Width because you incorporate motifs from different cultures—Japanese, Indian, Mayan, Greek—and depth because you are constantly trying to inquire into and reveal the things that matter the most; stuff that stays, endures, gives meaning to existence—desire, beauty, birth, connection, merriment. The texture of your work, I would say, is passionately anthropological. When and how did you develop this fascination with core universal human issues?
Does being French have anything to do with it? Being raised in France was a matter of chance. It is really a rich country, where a lot of different cultures have flourished and merged. We can see it even today with waves of migrants coming from Africa and the Middle East, being stuck and blocked on their way. This has been happening since prehistoric times when the Neanderthal and Cro-Magnon men met and probably interconnected.
At one point, all this French and European culture could be really overwhelming. But to some extent, yes, it opened my mind and gave me a large overview, a global picture. But I would also say that I have a strong sensitivity and compassion towards other human beings, their living conditions—such as birth, suffering, desire, pleasure, death—and their rituals and gestures—religions, philosophies, architecture, literature, spiritual practices.
This interest is something quite common, I share it with most artists. How have these three locations influenced your vision? One thing I would like to say about my country, is that, unfortunately, the contemporary art scene here, is totally poor and boring. For me, there is in this art production, a total lack of interest towards human desires. It looks like a flat brain wave, a grey world! This unbearable situation started more or less just after World War II.
