Purple Magazine
— F/W 2016 issue 26
Justin Morin x Louis Vuitton
JUSTIN MORIN for LOUIS VUITTON, artist
Fall/Winter 2016/17 collection
interview by JEFF RIAN
photography by OLA RINDAL
style by YASMINE ESLAMI
French artist Justin Morin’s truncated pillars, Melted Bones, made of mirrors and concrete, framed Nicolas Ghesquière’s fall/winter 2016/17 collection for Louis Vuitton. Morin, an artist of perception, combines transparent silks and shimmery metals in ways that embody matter as form, movement, space, light, color, reflection, and even time.
JEFF RIAN — Can you give us a brief history of your work and its development?
JUSTIN MORIN — I grew up in a very rural area, at the frontier between France, Belgium, and Luxembourg. when I was a kid, I often went with my mother to the perfumery where she worked. That’s where i had my first aesthetic revelations: the pictures of the advertising, the colors and textures of the make-up, the architectural shapes of the bottles of perfume… as an artist, I’m mostly working with volumes. I’m a big fan of minimal art. My early works were inspired by that movement. But working in my studio, I’ve realized that doing sculptures is a very physical activity. The muscles are highly solicited; you’re sweating a lot, but it’s, in fact, very sensual. So I decided to focus on this voluptuous aspect and engage with the expressive qualities of the materials I use, like chromed and shimmering metals or quasi-transparent silks.
A red leather bra over a light gray embroidered dress with metal and leather rings
JEFF RIAN — Your works seem to combine image and form, pictoriality and installation. Is it a way to recreate space via perception?
JUSTIN MORIN — Yes! when I’m doing a drapery installation, I’m trying to reshape the architectural space using the reflections of the colors. Another aspect of the silk is its lightness; It’s also moving, almost like it’s alive. For a sculptor, it’s incredible. I’m not looking for the perfect volume because that’s an endless quest. I’m just looking for the right shape or form because I know that even if the silk is moving, it will go back to the right place, the one I set up.
JEFF RIAN — Is it more about perception than concept?
JUSTIN MORIN — I think so. I’m hoping that everyone can approach my work from different points of view. There’s a conceptual approach to my work, revealed through the titles I’m using. Each drapery, its color gradation, is based on a very specific image extracted from the entertainment industry, fashion, cinema, even tourism. But while this aspect is important to me, it’s not the most important part of my work.
A black leather bra over a fluid white silk dress
JEFF RIAN — What is the most important?
JUSTIN MORIN — The process. Behind every work is a layer of complexity that makes it richer. But I’m currently more concerned with the first impression each will produce. I try to create a positive impact, but on different issues, either political or philosophical. In a way, it sounds naive, but I do think that ingenuity is very important, particularly these days, which are marked by so much cynicism.
White silk and black lace dress
Fluid multicolored silk dress with black leather boots
Metal and rhinestone earrings
