Biography of Monsta
Monsta is an artist who lives and works near Lyon. After working for several years as a stonecutter specialised in cobblestones, he decided to take on more personal projects. He thought about the need to escape from our sad reality, and looked for ways to awaken the child in each of us. Monsta takes a sombre and critical look at our society all while bringing a touch of derision and naïveté. His work reflects a child’s imagination, a contrasting universe where play co-exists with death, where monsters are both friendly and frightening, and where dreams merge with nightmares. He expresses all these contradictions in different formats, including drawings, paintings, sculptures, and installations.
“I wanted to emphasise two things that adults tend to neglect : nature, in the broadest sense, and one’s own childhood and the spirit that goes with it. The main subject, a bird, is outsized, slightly on the defensive in relation to humans, purposefully dominating the spectators. The childish nature of the scribbles softens the scene by bringing spontaneity and a certain freedom. The wide variety of different drawings is designed to evoke memories that are buried or have even disappeared, in the hopes of creating a more respectful connection between humans and nature.”
