Portrait of Sonia Rykiel, 4x5 inches contact sheet, 2010





Portrait of Sonia Rykiel, 35mm contact sheet, 2010

Portrait de
Sonia Rykiel, 2010

“Fascinated by Sonia Rykiel’s charisma, I decided to make a medium-long portrait of her and one of her creations, a pink sex toy topped with a feather, presented
in a diptych. I shared my idea with Sonia, who, very amused, invited me to the Maison Rykiel atelier to see her entire collection of sex toys...”



The portrait of Sonia Rykiel is presented on two panels.
The stylist, photographed in black and white, is wrapped in her fur coat. Her almost provocative feline posture is in contrast with the tenderness of the gaze she directs towards the viewer.
The portrait is accompanied by video animations. On the four small exterior screens, we see Sonia’s hands holding sewing scissors,
and their action controls the movement of the central screen showing the sex toy. The central animation is based on more than 300 photographs
of different sex toys, arranged by the artist in different lights and angles to bring their precious materials and vivid colours to life.
In the Portrait of Sonia, we see the relationship between the joyous movement of these objects of pleasure, and the touching portrait of their creator.