Visual artist.
Born in Clamart in 1992. Lives and works in Paris and Tours.
“Similar to a dreamlike, obsessive journey, Alexandra Riss’s works oscillate between observing reality and constructing fiction.
She arranges the memories and objects that surround her in vibrant compositions, convinced that the best way to address others is from one’s own experience. In this dreamlike space, all the objects are facets of the artist’s intimate reality. Like the heroic deeds that form the basis of a legendary character, it is the setting evoked, narrated or just imagined that reveals the power of things.
Far from being mere props, objects become actors, witnesses and transmitters of silent stories. The object created opens up a situation in which it will be put to performative use.
For Alexandra Riss, gestures and body movements are the means, like dramatic springs, for telling us, or inciting us to tell ourselves, stories. Designating most of her productions as performative objects, she establishes performances with professionals summoned for the precision of their gestures and the mastery of their skills. With the exception of her personal archives, the artist makes virtually no recordings, her aim being to encourage a kind of rumor, a more or less distorted echo of what happened, transmitted orally. Putting the object into action is essential, as it reinforces its singular character. The work enters into a relationship with the person who wears it, endorses it or handles it. A closeness is created between the artist, the piece and the person for whom it is intended.
Memory, both mysterious and profound, lies at the heart of Alexandra’s practice. Refusing to forget, Alexandra Riss has a special bond with everything that has disappeared, objects as much as people. When exhibited and shared with the public, furtive narratives compose a fictional scene.
The work is ultimately all this: it is a story, it is time and successive states, it is both a material and immaterial presence.”
Sandra Emonet
More info: https://www.alexandra-riss.fr/