la lionne blessée

The installation is made up of a rudimentary wooden structure that resembles a camp bed. Draped over the structure, a cotton veil is divided into a series of compartments. These are like a stall on which the figure of a wounded lioness is put forward. On the fabric, the fawn is depicted multiple times and in a multitude of ways. These designs take shape through embroidery. The construction and deconstruction of the original image* creates a kind of pattern, evolving from compartment to compartment, hence digging through these sequences the representation of the lioness body, (de)formed by pain.

The bas-relief dating from the ancient Assyrian period that inspired this work features the animal, injured during a hunting scene. Between strength and fragility, pain and resistance. Half of its body is erect, sturdy and tough. The other half dragged along the floor, badly injured and almost devastated. This heartbreaking hunting scene reveals a solitary body that moves intensely between life and death. La Lionne Blessée – The Blessed Lioness. These two sister phrases are embroidered on the cotton veil, among the different representations of the feline. The erroneous translation** makes it possible to shift the gaze by placing the lioness in a broader context. By turning the tide and surrounding it with hope and divine impulse, leaving more room for the strong and resilient half of its body, and hence for life itself. In the “Fishing and Hunting” section of the old Humblet pet store, you could buy cots. The object or image of the bed recurs repeatedly in Jot Fau’s work. The bed evokes a sort of body repairing that one can imagine exhausted or injured. The cot interests her all the more because she imagines it without an owner. Like a free and primary form whose mission would be to accommodate a large number of bodies in need.

* The wounded lioness is part of the Assyrian frieze of the hunt of Ashurbanipal of Nineveh, on display in the British Museum in London.

** The Blessed Lioness translates to La Lionne bénite

* La lionne blessée fait partie de la frise Assyrienne de la chasse d’Assurbanipal de Ninive, visible au British Museum à Londres.

** The Blessed Lioness se traduit par La Lionne bénite