Aubane always yearned to become a journalist, imagining how information sharing could improve social and political realities. As a teenager, she studied art and began to develop her creativity. Although Art was certainly a passion, it lacked the urgency of the political convictions she believed she could share via investigative journalism. As time went on, she zeroed in on the hugely complex potential of art as a tool to improve our society. Attempting to represent the world with her own language, her visual art questions the audience, interrogating their given realities, perceptions and ideals. Working primarily with photography, Aubane also dabbles in video, installation, ceramics, performance and drawing. Why and how is the private political? Does gender really exist? What are the codes and symbols of masculinity and femininity? Is the erotic political? Is the couple political? Can we really get rid of social norms? Is identity always political? In which contexts can we show a nude body? These are just some of the important, stirring questions she asks in her provocative practice. As an artist, Aubane aims to engage her audience directly and reveal the constructed-ness of identity given societal norms. Fascinated with the way in which cultural and social environments influence intimacy and sexuality, her work deals in perceptions and norms governing the gendered body. Playing around with notions of “The Gaze,” her compositions flip the script to turn the lens on the male figure. Her visual language of contrast, ripe with flashy colors, plants, flowers, and a strong collage aspect characterize her works. While traversing the realms of collage, ceramic and installation, the final result of the artist’s creative explorations usually lends the sensibility of photography. Based at present in the Netherlands, Aubane recently completed a Masters in Photography. Her creative initiatives include creating a residency program for French and Dutch art students focused on political and sociological theory and an interactive space where people will share knowledge through art, lecture and debate. “My main goal is to question a maximum of people on their vision of [gender] identity, to try to break some walls, even at a small scale,” explains the French-born creative. Her current project, a continuation of her research on masculinities and their expression, will premiere in 2019 during an exhibition in Amsterdam. Framing masculinity as a role – consciously or unconsciously – assumed and shouldered by men, Aubane sought out expressions of masculinity which appeared to be in their most raw, or uncontrolled state. For instance, masculinity during and after the practice of a combative sport, and during and after sex. “Paradoxically, sexuality and sports are recurrent fields where most of the individuals try to perform, answering to gender expectation,” reflects the artist. Ultimately, the artist will compare the two test groups in an art piece which will take the final format of video, combining photography and moving image.
Follow her on instagram @aubane.bm