Le rêveur (2024) Sculpture by Elie Diol

My name is Elie DIOL, and I'm a French-Senegalese sculptor who grew up on Reunion Island. When I was 18, I decided to leave my island and land in Lyon, where I began my university years at the École Emile COHL, where for three years I had the chance to perfect my technique and hone my taste for art.

The third year was almost over, and the idea of launching myself as an independent artist and starting full-time in my artistic activity was a constant preoccupation. As the year went by, my desires grew stronger and stronger, and long before my graduation, my choice was made and the path to follow was crystal clear.

My girlfriend and I moved to Barcelona, which enabled me to take a step back from everything I'd assimilated during my years of study, to question everything I'd learned. And now, 6 months after the start of my adventure, sale after sale, question after question, the idea is becoming clearer and more refined. Cardboard is the obvious choice.

Working with cardboard means transforming the ordinary into the extraordinary. It's also about escaping the idea that making art is reserved for those who can afford it. Using cardboard also carries an ecological symbolism: why create matter when you can use what nobody wants, transform it, sublimate it.

• Nationality: FRANCE
• Date of birth : 2002
• Artistic domains: Works by professional artists,
• Groups: Professional Artist Contemporary French Artists