Camille Levert: For the time being

EVENT DESCRIPTION

La Galerie is delighted to present 3 original series of unique pieces by Camille Levert.

Camille Levert has created thousands of pictures of her adopted town of Hong Kong. Her sharp eye captures the local culture and fragile historical testimonies, which becomes more fleeting as these visual markers continue to disappear.

Through a combination of original photo documentation, found imagery, and mixed media, she creates layered three-dimensional objects with assiduous care. Each piece consists of a combination of more than ten layers of photographs, collaged vintage magazine imagery and/or hand sewn embroidery. The effect is of a time-space clash. The viewer is invited to immerse in these poetic and meticulous works where present and past meet, continuing to reveal Levert’s strong connection to Hong Kong.

CORNER HOUSES
“Corner houses are at the crossroads of the major thoroughfares and arteries of Hong Kong. They are witnesses to the confluence of the dense flow of the town and remain pillars of the past. Laundry, AC, opened windows seem like embroideries in their pale colors. I have such a pleasure in collecting, cutting and preserving those images of a disappearing reality. Hong Kong is a continually developing city. It reaches a goal. It crosses times, instead of letting time cross it. It leaves behind former architectures which do not fit its ambitions any more. These buildings have a limited life span. Their peculiar charm, their histories anchored in memories inspire my work.”- Camille Levert

STAIRCASES
In the old buildings, staircases directly open onto the street. The eye can follow their path, we can imagine other lives up there. A world of possible lives… But we will not climb up. They remain secret. Then we continue our walk and forget… Camille Levert’s series invites our imagination in those so banal – so extraordinary staircases. Her technique enhances the mystery: it is a faithful and subtle metamorphosis of the everyday architecture. The staircases catches the attention: the building, the men, the town disappear. Our fantasy is free to recreate its own projection.

THEATRE : TODAY NEXT CHANGE
A SPECIAL PRE-VIEW
As are the corner houses, theatres are also witnesses to the past. New buildings are taking their places. Some have already been destroyed and Camille Levert’s artworks are the vibrant revival of their prestigious story.

Camille Levert’s is preparing a large exhibition focused on theatre. (Autumn 2022)

La Galerie is exhibiting the very first pieces of this collection.

State Theatre (a theatre located on 277 King’s Road, North Point)
Lung Wah Theatre (a theatre located on 117 Chung On Street, Tsuen Wan)
Sunbeam Theatre (a theatre 413 King’s Road, North Point)

ABOUT THE ARTIST / ORGANISER

Camille Levert was born in France in 1974. She is a photographer and collage artist. She lives in Hong Hong since 2015.

After studying foreign languages (English and Chinese, LVQ level 5) and new technologies, Camille worked 12 years in public relations (food & beverage marketing), including 4 years in Beijing.
 In January 2009, she left the marketing world and settled as a full-time freelance photographer, and started to work on her first collage pieces.

Since 2016, Camille has fully integrated the three-dimensional photocollage technic into her artistic work, which allows her to push the boundaries of photography and explore new fields such as time layers and distortion of reality.