In this conversation, curator Hans Ulrich Obrist talks with French-Caribbean painter and sculptor Pol Taburet about his practice. Taburet discusses growing up between Paris and Guadeloupe, his grandmother's untold stories and Creole heritage as core sources of inspiration, and themes like creolization (drawing on Édouard Glissant), memory, ritual, and spirituality. He explains his signature mix of airbrush and thick matte painting, his shift into sculpture (family members, trumpets inspired by Salvador de Bahia), and recurring motifs such as the tablecloth, which both hides and reveals. He closes with unrealised projects: a film built around his characters, and a Paris exhibition space for young and emerging artists.
“J'ai plus la voix de ma-grand mère. Donc la voix c'est encore une sorte de fantasme. Je sais pas si je l'entends correctement. C'est justement cette distance qui est créée, cette espèce de mur entre notre monde et l'autre que j'ai essayé de développer.”
— Pol Taburet
