LAURE JOLISSAINT

Resident April 2024

Laure Jolissaint (1988) is an interdisciplinary artist. She works and lives in Biel/Bienne, Switzerland.

Her artistic expression reflects the movements of her inner world, often dreamlike and poetic. The disciplines closest to her are dance, performance, poetry, and video. She does not exclude any discipline because she prioritizes content and the artists she collaborates with above all else.

Research plays a significant role in her creative process. The place where the artist conceives and presents her project strongly influences its outcome; therefore, it is integrated and treated consciously. International residencies are a way to feed her desire for discovery and the opportunity to bring back raw material.

Particularly interested in the phenomenon of water, the connection between voice and body, rituals, and mental health, her practice tends to merge art and care.

"My grounding in the earth and awareness of my body allow me to realize my ideas in material."

In addition to her individual practice, Laure Jolissaint is involved with the Ultramarine project.

In Galatina, Laura has experienced many of these practices: "I discovered that there were caves to explore practically everywhere near Galatina. Coming from Switzerland, I don't have access to the sea or caves. To my great joy, this residency would make this experience possible. For over a year, I have been exploring my voice and the benefits of this expression. Alongside my research on the sea, to record the sound of underwater caves, I am recording my voice in a church in Galatina, Santa Maria della Grazia. The churches of Salento emit a particular beauty. A further process could lead me to combine these two types of sounds. The energy of the Virgin Mary and the essence of water have, in my opinion, something in common. Entering a church with my voice is a special sensation, a feeling of resonance in space and time."