Olivier was born in the Congo in 1959 and now lives and works in Saint Nazaire, France. For the past 20 years he has developed a hybrid practice that mixes painting, photography, sculpture, and performance, exhibiting widely in France, Europe and Canada, in art galleries, museums, and film festivals.
Above is De Sagazan’s most famous performance Transfiguration, which tells the story of human transformation into a variety of incarnations. It was premiered in 1998, and since then it has been performed more than 300 times in 25 countries. The Guardian describes the work as follows: "The Transfiguration performance, created 20 years ago, has to be one of the most original and incredible things you’re likely to see. But that doesn’t mean you’re going to like it."
And here he is again in a video for death metal trio Moral Collapse.
And in another slightly more disturbing video for Hideous Divinity
His sculptures could be described as primitive and tribal, he says that he is deeply inspired by the relationship between the earth and the influence that elements play in shaping our planet.
He once said that "They (us) arrive one day in the world, totally lost, and leave in a stupor on another day. On the rest, they go on focusing on daily tasks, perhaps forgetting the poetry of this strange world. Art can be a knife to open this mask and reveal the strangeness of being alive. “
De Sagazan has no formal training in art, but he did study biology and, in his mind says he is always trying to understand life. In the 90s, de Sagazan started painting, and sculpture came a few years later, he sees it as a way to get closer to our world.
His sculptures have been described as macabre, usually presenting crippled, mutilated, tortured human-like figurines.
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