PAULINE LOCTIN | PAPER SCULPTOR
“Paper allowed me to really explore, to play, to unlock parts of my creativity I didn’t know existed – and to make huge mistakes. To let go of the ‘code’ of musical apprenticeship and the notion that you can never, ever make a mistake because you are always looking for perfection. My style is based on the mistakes that I’ve made, for they’ve shown me the direction that I want to take. I can be intuitive and discover new ways of doing things. New ways of seeing.”
Pauline’s story as a paper sculptor begins long before she was born, in the rich cultural milieu surrounding the Mediterranean, where her roots took on different shapes, colors and forms.
After a lifetime dedicated to mastering the violin, Pauline Loctin left her native France for Montreal, Quebec, and unexpectedly found herself questioning the path she had so carefully chosen.
From the age of 6 to 24 years old, Pauline strove to combine the elements of tone, timbre, texture, melody, harmony, rhythm, and form into flawless compositions. Her passion for technique deepened as her ability to produce the precise and desired musical effect grew. And yet, in her quest for perfectionism, she realized that she was not able to fully express herself – her pain, her joy – to its full extent. Something was missing from the elements of composition. Something felt trapped.
At 30 years old, after realizing that music would no longer be her path, Pauline returned to France for the summer and opened a book on pliage (paper folding) given to her by a friend. She folded paper every day that summer, and has been working with the medium every day since. Through the intricacies of trial and error – cutting, folding and shaping a new medium using new, manual techniques – Pauline unleashed a part of her creativity that had been locked away.
“Paper healed a lot of the things in my life that I had ignored or suppressed for so long. It helped me to access the parts of my identity and my roots that make up the whole of who I am – that connect me with my heritage, and the story of my family.”
Pauline works in the abstract and yet her sculptures create a tangible link to the essence of artistry – the process of doing something from scratch, of transforming a one-dimensional plain into multidimensional forms that connect us to a sense of beauty and vitality. For as much as an artist is shaped by her world, so too can she shape, bend and mold her world to speak to unspoken truths, giving way to a deeper appreciation for the coexistence of light and dark, joy and pain – the very fabric of human connection.
Exhibitions
Solo and Duo Show
Pli.é Project, Ausgang Plaza, Montréal, 2018
Chromatic Reflections, Galerie XII - Los Angeles, 2023
Public Art
Ancestrale, Galerie éphémère Amalgame, Montreal, 2018
Ancestrale, Artist Project Contemporary Art Fair, Toronto, 2019
Coral, Centre Eaton, Montreal, 2021
Fantaisie #1, outdoor installation, Centre d’art Diane-Dufresne, 2022/2023
Note, installation at la Maison Symphonique, Montreal, 2022
The Flow of Emotional Numbness at Google Headquarters, Montreal, 2023
Escale, Gare Centrale de Montréal, 2024
Group Exhibitions
Immersion Colorée, Festival Chromatic, Montréal, 2017
Black Wall, Exposition "L'origami sous tous ses plis", La villa Bagatelle, Ville de Québec, 2017
Ancestrale, Le Livart, Montréal, 2018
Barrier, Musée des beaux arts, 2019
Infinite, Exhibition Couturrissime/Montreal Couture, Musée des beaux arts de Montréal, 2019
PAPERHOLIC : Obsession papier, La Guilde, Montreal, 2022
Wildflowers, “Paradis Perdu” exhibition, Centre d’art Diane-Dufresne, Repentigny, Spring 2024
Princess Diana, Royal Photographer Archives ; International Exhibition, (presented in Los Angeles, Chicago, Toronto, Washington D.C., Miami, Puerto Rico, Melbourne, Sidney, Brisbane, Perth, London) 2021 - 2024
PAPERHOLIC : Obsession papier, La Guilde, Ville de Québec, Spring/Summer 2024
Art Fairs
Souk Craft Fair, Montréal, Edition 2017, 2018 and 2019
Fashion Art Toronto, 2019
Artist Project Contemporary Art Fair, Toronto, 2020
Internships & Residencies
Jnane Tamsna Marrakech, Art residency, Fall 2024
West Dean College; UK, Paper sculpture with Richard Sweeney, 2023
Ciment Pleating Atelier; London, UK; Pleating fabric internship; 2022
Grants & Awards
2022 Canada Council for the arts - Explore and Create, Grant for Professional Development for Artists
2019 Applied Art Awards 2019 for best visuals for “Trapped” and “Rodeo Collection"“, Canada
2019 Experience, Bombardier Business Aircraft Magazine, Winner of the Folio Eddie and Ozzie Awards in the categories / Overall Editorial Excellence and Best Cover, New York City
Study
The Cooper Union; New York City; Paper Engineering ; 2021
HEC ; Montréal – Maitrise en gestion d’organisme culturels - 2008-2009
Université François-Rabelais en partenariat avec l’Université de Montréal - Maitrise en musicologie spécialisée sur l’étude des musiques pop et l’émergence du R’n’B - 2003-2008
Conservatoire Francis-Poulenc de Tours ; France - Master degree in classical violin - 2007
Talks & Lectures
Craftworks, London (UK), 15-17 May 2024
Clerkenwell Design Week, London (UK), 21-23 May 2024
Concordia University, Montreal, Digital Creativity in the arts industry, 2020
Montreal In Motion [MIM], Moment Factory, Vol.1, ép.7, 2017
L’école de cirque de Montréal, “Managing your artistic career” class, 2015-2017
Clients
Four Seasons / Uncommon London / Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal / Atelier Zébulon Perron / Google / Nespresso / Holt Renfrew / Lexus / Bonlook / New York Times Magazine / Musée des beaux-art de Montréal / Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec / COS / H&M / Maison Simons / Yorkdale Shopping Center Toronto / Air Canada / Shopify / Veuve Clicquot / Mural Festival / West Elm / Musée Pointe-à-Callière / L’école Nationale de Cirque de Montréal