Renaud Jerez’s Poison (2024) is a full-length portrait of a sophisticated woman, elegantly poised in orange-tinted Céline glasses (the artist is keen to specify the exact brand). The lenses faintly mirror a vibrant red backdrop, a blend of Chinese lacquer and Helios red, hinting at an undercurrent of intensity. Draped in a luminous green dress, the fabric shimmers subtly as it cascades to her feet, where she wears a pair of frankly ridiculous yet familiar Swiffer (ditto) slippers, a juxtaposition that adds a touch of domesticity to the otherwise enigmatic scene. In her razor-gloved hand, an armored witch from Obrist’s favorite video game, Elden Ring conjures a bottle that hovers just above her grasp. The bottle, adorned with a skull, floats as if suspended by dark magic, imbuing the composition with an air of danger and mysticism. Across the scene, the words POISON stretch in bold turquoise and pink letters, a vivid inscription that underscores the tension between the portrait’s elegance and its ominous undertones. Jerez’s painting merges the mundane with the fantastical, offering a commentary on power, transformation, and the subtle interplay between fashion and video games, the language of advertising and contemporary art. This work was recently featured in the solo exhibition POISON at Crèvecœur, in Paris.
Renaud Jerez (b. 1982, lives and works in Berlin) explores themes of contamination and consumption through his provocative installations. He crafts avatars from materials like PVC tubing, sports gear, and latex gloves, juxtaposing them with videos that mimic beauty product ads. These skeletal figures, often headless, amputated, and bandaged, expose the relentless demands of industries centered on physical self-maintenance, while their exposed wires and pipe endings hint at a bionic, uncertain future.
LINK: Renaud Jerez
