BRAASTAD x Stéphane Dupuis - Limited Edition

Stéphane DUPUIS
° Marseille, 20-02-1970
Lives and works in Marseille

Approach
“My work is an observation of human behavior today.”
Stéphane Dupuis’ work begins with photography. With spontaneous attention, he intuitively scans the urban fabric. In the next phase, he analyses the shots to select the poses that define the connections between people – or the absence of connection: “It is above all these poses, these interactions or non-interactions between people that interest me. If the decor does not contribute to the story I want to tell, I eliminate it.”
In his urban tales, he represents the contemporary city dweller, without criticism, without judgment, only as a mirror of society.

Technique
The ballpoint pen is the central tool in Stéphane Dupuis’ work: “I make lines and strokes. I use only one color, blue, and I can only darken my drawing. At no time can I lighten it.” This technique therefore requires long and meticulous work.
For him, the “limits” of the tool allow for exploring different graphic forms (scribbling, unidirectional lines, chevrons, etc.). Different types of lines create volumes and materials. This results in a realistic impression: “I perceive my technique as a form of modern impressionism.”
“I erase the settings, because my tools form the setting for my urban stories.”
Stéphane Dupuis wants to treat these contemporary subjects with contemporary tools: the ballpoint pen, a tool popularized for talking about everyday life, and street art spray paint, street painting for talking about the street: “I am attached to the coherence between the story I tell and how I tell it. »
With his first tool, Dupuis expresses a beautiful metaphor for life: "I am often told that we have no right to make mistakes when using a ballpoint pen. In life, we sometimes make mistakes. To err is human. And I draw humans."