On September 24th, 2021 French artist Christine Rebet presented a virtual artist talk, hosted by iAcademy in collaboration with OCAD University. In preparation for an upcoming collaborative course with OCAD University and iAcademy students, Rebet shared her process of using experimental animation and sound in her art practice. This live artist talk was open to the public for online registration.

“Historically, Animation started with music through the development of jazz and orchestral music in the early 20’s and 30’s. Around which time, Walt Disney developed Silly Symphonies when music determined the visuals and narrative followed. For this collaborative project, I propose a similar process wherein improvisation is embraced that will create an impact similar to jazz."

Christine Rebet is fascinated by illusion and deception. She prefers drawing because it is manual and spontaneous, and she produces hundreds and thousands of drawings in ink, which she assembles frame by frame using traditional, early animation techniques. Repeated drawing, which is the origin of moving pictures, creates what she calls her 'paper cinema'.

Christine Rebet re-interprets personal and collective traumas and mixes history and fiction in fantasy worlds. The subjects of her films are universal and evoke not only political reality, but also the destruction of the world, the oppression of human beings, and the idea of metamorphosis. She transcends imagery with a disturbing poetry, using manipulative techniques to explore the audience’s subconscious mind. She creates an imaginative fantasy through which to escape from the world.

Born in 1971 in Lyon, Christine Rebet lives and works in Paris and New York. After studying at the Academy of Fine Art in Venice (1991), the artist took a Bachelor’s degree in Theatre Design at Central Saint Martins School of Art and Design, London (1996) and a Master’s degree in Art at Columbia University, New York (2011). Christine Rebet’s work has been shown in numerous international institutions, including galleries, art centres and museums: the Santa Fe Biennale, Bureau (New York), AlbumArte (Rome), Le Magasin (Grenoble), Shanghai Art Museum (Shanghai), Parasol Unit (London), MAC VAL (Vitry-sur-Seine), Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art (Scottsdale), Fondation Cartier (Paris), Sculpture Centre (Long Island City), Moore Space (Miami). Her works also feature in the private and public collections of the Centre Pompidou, Kadist Foundation and MAC VAL, amongst others. Christine Rebet is represented by Bureau Gallery in New York.

With the support of the Consulate of France in Toronto

Avec le soutien du Consulat de France à Toronto