MARGAUX DERHY
From her flat overlooking the rooftops of Paris, as well as during her numerous trips, Margaux Derhy constantly returns to her childhood memories to better reinvent them. Her figurative paintings, based on photographs and personal snapshots, exude a great melancholic sweetness, the same one you feel when you look at your family albums years later. In Margaux's work, colour also has a predominant place, both bright and soft, and on closer inspection, some details wink at you... Seduced by her universe, Bar-Da had the opportunity to meet Margaux, on the occasion of the exhibition she held on her return from her artistic residency in Japan, and just before her departure for London!
Who are you? Margaux Derhy, I am a painter, I live in Paris, but this year, I moved to London to resume my studies. I've enrolled in a Master of Art "Art and Sciences" at Central St Martin's. I'm still in the stressful phase of going back to school and discovering new things, but in a fortnight it will be nothing but excitement!
Which bag(s) do you use on a daily basis? Mostly a very heavy totebag! And I also have a lot of things in my pockets, hands etc... The totebag varies according to the moment. At the moment, I'm using the one from an African Art fair I went to in London a few days ago. I also have a very small bag when I want to be light
In Margaux's bag
What are you taking with you? My documents, my phone, scotch tape, scissors, posca markers, a small notebook, a lipstick and my wallet. Oh, and new, I have a small bag of almonds and dried fruit.
What items do you always carry with you in your bag (your must-haves?): my notebook and my Posca markers.
How do you find your keys? So this is like in the movies, those scenes where the girl almost falls into her bag looking for them. It's always a big mess!
An anecdote (a (mis)adventure with your bag ...)? At one point, for one of my exhibitions, I had a totebag made with one of my paintings and my name printed on it, to offer to my buyers. I kept one for myself, but I stopped wearing it very quickly, I thought it was a bit egocentric... And people thought it was strange that I was walking around with a bag with my name on it.
What do you take with you on holiday? I have a lot of back pain. I try to carry as little as possible. So I put my iPhone in my pocket, with my credit card and my keys. It's very nice to be light when visiting museums.
How do you reconcile your professional and personal life in your bag? Everything is mixed up, just like in my head!
Do Parisian women have a specific relationship with their bags? In a certain imagination, or in a certain milieu, that's for sure. The branded and valuable bag is part of the panoply of the well-to-do Parisian woman in the upper class.
Your self-portrait
Self Portrait by Margaux Derhy