She has that spontaneity, enthusiasm and wonderment about life that the philosophical cultivate but many of us sadly lose after childhood. And despite the smooth, quirky appearance of the colourful sweet sculptures that have brought her success, there burns in Laurence Jenkell an inner fire, a pressing need to speak out. “I can’t get away from sweeties. I wasn’t allowed them as a child, they were strictly forbidden,” the artist let’s drop as she again opens the doors of her huge studio/laboratory on the Vallauris industrial estate to us. In (inspired) revenge, she turned sweets into sculptures, then an art form now prized by collectors and art lovers, displayed internationally by foundations and museums. Jenkell gives her fertile imagination a free rein, from 80cm acrylic-glass Sweet Wrappings containing World Cup rugby balls to the 2.5m-high polyester-resin Flag Wrappings* displayed along the Croisette during the G20 summit. The strenuous physicality of her studio work, the challenge of manipulating her materials, the battle against machismo and cynicism in the art world... all tackled with charm and a big smile. This artist is “jenkellising” the world through her signature manipulation: the twist. Having travelled many countries with her confectionery sculptures, she now reveals the emotions driving her and states her position on ecology and the environment through her Trashcan Wrapping. She explains: “Seeing species dying out, global warming and our awful waste problem, I wanted to alert the public, express my rejection of that through my twistings. A trashcan isn’t just something dirty, it’s also a means of recycling.” Following on from Ready-Mades, Pop Art and Nouveau Réalisme, Jenkell has raised an unloved object to the rank of artwork by moulding it in aluminium. The little girl getting her own back is a responsible artist delivering a political message.
*The Flag Wrappings are part of the artist’s permanent collection. Following their 2011 Cannes showing they have been travelling the world, next stop Times Square.
Par Tanja Stojanov
Photo Jean-Michel Sordello
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