VIDEO. Discover the incredible workshop of this “metalo-dechetician” artist in Loire-Atlantique

In 25 years of artistic career, Christian Champin has achieved nearly 2,000 sculptures each more impressive than the other.

From the small bird to the immense bull, including robots Inspired by Star Wars, the “metal-dechetician”, as he likes to call himself, transforms objects made of stainless steel, iron or metal into true works of art.

Today, it is at the Hangar de Paimboeuf (Loire-Atlantique) that he exhibits his collections for six months. African masks, animalspassing through humanoid figuresrobotic or more abstract, Christian Champin offers a journey through his inspirations.

In bodywork forever

The artist has always been immersed in automotive environment and scrap metal. His dad, a coachbuilder in Domfront, in Normandy, was his waste producer. “I collected its residue and created my toys with it,” reveals Paimblotin. He, who didn’t have television, made his own cartoons.

Despite his artistic soul, Christian Champin studied in Angers and became robotics engineer. “In the 80s, we didn’t say ‘do what you want’ to children. »

For almost ten years, he traveled the world. China, Mauritania, Chile, Ivory Coast, it crosses many developing countries.

I was particularly marked by my visits to Africa. We find ourselves confronted with man’s impact on the environment, pollution and the way populations divert objects.

500 m2 of workshop and 100 tonnes of materials

After his travels, Christian Champin joined Royal de Luxe, the company based in Machines on the island of Nantes. “That’s where I discovered that we could combine creation and technique,” ​​he confides.

He ended up leaving his construction sites to settle in Paimboeuf. Its reserve of materials is stored in a gigantic garage of 500 m²in a certain organized bazaar.

Since then, he regularly obtains supplies from a scrap dealer friend and builds up a large stock of pieces of scrap metal. “As long as I can get some, I do so and store them. Then I take one that attracts me, I observe it, turn it in all directions, and I get an idea. »

Today, the artist accumulates nearly 100 tons of materials. Exhaust pipes, pieces of body, metal rodsbicycles, or even clock fragmentshis creations start from nothing and gradually come to life in this place.

“I choose an object that catches my eye, I put it on the ground, then I take others which I install next to it and little by little it forms something,” he explains.

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From realism to abstract

When he launched into sculpture, Christian Champin devoted himself to realism, even surrealism. “25 years ago, I was totally sealed off from the abstract. » Yet it is towards this new form of expression that the sculptor starts at 57 years old.

“I thought it was more difficult to build something that resembled a real object or being than it was to create a shape that made no sense. So, I was doing it to prove that I was good. Now I understood that it wasn’t that easy to make something abstract beautiful. »

Although he’s not quite ready for his transition yet, his new creations will be exhibited faster than expected. “I realized that I was having trouble selling. I wondered if it was because my works were no longer popular or if it was too expensive. Given the number of sales I have made since lowering my prices, I think it was more the second option,” he says.

Christian already has elapsed 60 since the opening of his exhibition at the Hangar de Paimboeuf on May 22. “We’re going to have to replace them. »

A political artist

In his works, the sculptor of Paimboeuf pass on messages. “It’s my way of doing politics,” he assures. If pick up trashto transform them and thus recycle them, was already almost an act activist for the artist 25 years ago, he is even more committed today.

His best example: his little penguins who left their ice floe to find refuge in France. “For me, they are climate refugees, who joined other political and war refugees, and who were told from all sides “go home”. I tell them “welcome here”. »

Exhibition at the Hangar de Paimbœuf until November 3. – 50% on all works. Open during Tourist Office hours: Tuesday to Saturday, 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. / 2 p.m. – 6 p.m., and from 1^er July to August 31, every day, 10 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. / 2:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.

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