Jean Claude Jolet lives and works in La Réunion. Originally a sculptor, his work also extends into the fields of photography, performance, composite objects, and installation.
Artistic approach
For the past fifteen years, Jean-Claude Jolet has been exploring cultural diversity and Creole identity through sculptural installations that question the lingering effects of Réunion’s colonial history.
Manufactured materials of all kinds, as well as raw natural elements, are organized into “mental sculptures,” borrowing the precision of a technician, the ingenuity of a handyman, and the sensitivity of a poet. His work is constructed in a mise en abyme of cultural and political objects.
Artist’s biography
Originally trained as an aeronautical technician, Jean Claude Jolet eventually turned to art and sculpture. Since 2011, he has been working as a volume manager at the École supérieure d’arts de La Réunion and in workshops, notably at ESA Saint-Luc in Liège. His work has been exhibited on numerous occasions since 2000, at the Galerie Le Cadre Noir in Saint-Denis, La Réunion, the Saint-Julien Chapel in Petit-Quevilly, and the La Médiatine art center in Brussels.