Born in 1967 in Amiens (France), Ise Cellier shares her life between the north of France and Normandy.

Ise Cellier embroiders and draws hidden stories. Since childhood, thread has been her lifelong companion–an ally in both creation and overcoming life's obstacles.

Through embroidery and elaborate frills, crafted with patience, determination, and sometimes rage, she has brought into being a dreamlike cast of creatures that inhabit stories and fairy-tale scenes. These poetic creations maintain a delicate balance between humour and sacredness, farce and contemplation, the grotesque and the solemn.

Alongside her textile work, Ise develops works on paper. She creates handmade printing matrices from unusual materials, approaches assemblage as a form of play, prints her stitched drawings, and produces artists' books that combine paint and embroidery. She also occasionally works with ceramics.

This profusion of artistic experimentation, together with the increasingly elliptical narratives embodied in her imaginary figures, has recently begun to expand into space. Through these explorations, she seeks new ways of engaging with the world, with others, and with forms of representation that move towards puppetry and theatre.

About the work:
This piece functions like a palindrome; it can be read in both directions. The red cross and the position of the hands serve as a pivot. The work rotates on itself. On the character’s side, the gesture resembles that of a protective Madonna, full of empathy for the viewer, ready to provide help with her red cross on her shoulder. On the wolf’s side, the story shifts to another, skewed point of view; the beast signals beneath the character’s skirts. Nothing is simple. Nothing seems to happen as appearances suggest.
Ise Cellier