Exhibition “Wind into the Soul” in Andrésy, France, 2019

Interview with the newspaper “Actuel.fr” by Par Thomas Richardson Published on August 1, 2019

Muriel Pénicaud exhibits in Andrésy (Yvelines).

"I was struck by the correspondence between the expressive power of these two horses and the obvious power of this woman."

Do you remember your first camera? How old were you when you got it, and how did you feel at that moment?

I was 11 years old. It was a Polaroid camera. I got it for Christmas. We were in the mountains. I remember going out alone to walk in the snowy landscape, eagerly looking for something that would catch my eye and become a photograph.

What appeals to you about the art of photography?

It is a popular, immediate, universal art form. Anyone can and dares to practice it, from amateurs to professionals and artists. Photography generates emotion and questions. It bears witness, challenges, and feeds the imagination of the viewer. Photography can reveal the timeless through the present moment, the invisible through the visible, the universal through the particular. It's magical!

What equipment do you use to take photographs today?

Depending on the context, a Leica (for quality), a Nikon with a 300mm telephoto lens (for birds), or an iPhone (for availability). The camera is just a tool, adapted to constraints and circumstances. What matters is the eye.

How did you become involved in the Sculptures en l'île adventure? What motivated you to participate?

In 2018, I showed my first exhibition on birds, Wind under the Wings, at Sculptures en île, after Paris, Tokyo, and Beijing in 2017. The organizers and curator of the Sculptures en l'île exhibition (Pierre Bongiovanni, editor's note) invited me to repeat the experience with my new exhibition Wind into the Soul, about women, in 2019, which I gladly accepted.

Making photos and sculptures available to everyone in nature and in the city is entirely in line with my vision of the role of art in the city: it must enrich, nourish, challenge, and connect people with one another.

What criteria did you use to select the photos for the exhibition? When were they taken?

These photos were taken around the world between 2014 and 2019. We selected them with the exhibition curator so that each one is unique, set in different worlds, but all of them are an enigma, a question, or an inspiration. Let a breath of air pass: Wind into the Soul.

Can you tell us the story behind the photo showing two horses and a rider looking back?

I took this photo at the Feria in Arles. As with most of my photos, I am struck or fascinated by something and I take the photo instinctively. I was struck by the correspondence between the expressive power of these two horses (they resemble Michelangelo's statues) and the obvious power of this woman with her mane and hair riding them. It is a hymn to the indomitable freedom and inner strength of women.

But what interests me most is that everyone invents their own story about this woman. My greatest reward is when those who look at my photos imagine a story. Photography is a window that opens onto the imagination.