Montreal devotes a big space to street art and graffiti. We can admire frescos all around the city. A « mural » festival takes place every year. A deeply artistic city with art galleries, a very active « quartier des spectacles » (entertainment district), shows are all over town, tattoos of course, lots of festivals from the start of spring until autumn and tons of artists from every background. It’s with no suprise that Jean Labourdette wanted to immigrate over there.
Let’s go a bit back in Jean Labourdette’s journey. He was born in Malakoff in the inner suburbs of Paris where he lives for 25 years. He bathes in a very artistic environment since his dad is a sculptor, painter and drawing teacher. Jean also has a passion for comics, he devours the works of Moebius, Carlos Nine and also Nicolas de Crecy. « I have a huge comic culture in which I've refined a sense for the picture but also for the drawing » he tells us. Another book, this time a children’s book, offered to him when he was little, also greatly influenced his universe. A book by John S. Goodall, an English illustrator about the adventures of a pig named « Paddy » at the opera. Jean believes his fascination for the theater world came from that book.
Self taught and allergic to school, he starts doing graffiti at the end of the 80’s. He’s only twelve years old when he takes up his first spray cans. This is when « Turf One » is born; his graffiti alias that he’ll keep. Later, he joins a Parisian crew called « TW ». Group close to the famous « PCP » and « Numéro 6 » specialised in personas, a reference for Turf. It’s also in those years that he’ll start painting. When it was raining and the group couldn’t go out to punish some walls, « we’d meet up at a friend’s place (if the parents weren’t there), smoke some joints, drink beer and paint with Posca pens on big canvas. We’d also use acrylic to fill with anything, just to kill time. » Jean aka Turf One progressively prefers to continue on his own, taking a more personal path and so presents his first exhibit in 1994. He seeks unusual locations to do graffiti on his own. « In the 90’s, I’d go exploring different places, abandoned houses, you enter some sort of time capsule and time travel through those places. » The deserted sceneries and locations become his inspiration. Like using a real door to draw a real size persona walking outside, the prop is as important as the subject: we can find this in his paintings, with the use of ancient objects SUCH as a frame or prop for his work. These objects influence his creation, he adapts to the prop and the soul of the object.
In 1996, Turf One participates in the first edition of hip-hop magazine « Radikal ». « I had carte blanche for two pages and express all the bullshit that goes through my head and pages of illustrations. » This collaboration will last until his departure for Montreal.
A New Life, a new way of undertaking his art, « It’s when I arrived in Montreal in 2001 that I started questioning myself, when you quit everything, leave everything behind, you leave your friends, your family. You find yourself in some sort of free space that can « give you the blues » and you question yourself. Do I still want to do these things, like comics, graffiti, I've been doing this for 10 years, does it still suit me, I had arrived at the end of a cycle. So, I allowed myself to take a few months to introspect. I arrived at the start of the Québec winter, super cold, I knew nobody, I had to find something so I wouldn’t go mad. I went into the workshop and I painted, painted, painted, I let out everything that would come and I used a different method: paint or create images as an illustrator with a rational idea behind and a practical message. I started working from my subconscious, painting as if I was dreaming, seeing what pictures would emerge from themselves. What would my inspiration give, if I didn’t try to control it. And it gave something totally different. »
His painting becomes more personal. We can discover his love for old frames and ancient objects. « When I was a kid, I'd spend all my weekends going with my father to the market, antiques, already at that age I was used to it » he says. Thematics often refers to the past, as if to make them last. A way to cheat death, which is very present in his paintings, while keeping alive the days long past.
Curiosity pushes Jean to discover other graphical horizons in classical painters « a little too late » he confesses. “I didn’t study art history, I didn’t know much about classical painting, it came later, in my twenties. I fell in profound admiration for the work of Rembrandt with the shadows revealing the light and vice versa. There is no life without an opposite dynamic. So there is no light with obscurity, no life without death, beauty without ugliness. Very present notions in my work” Jean also like the work of artist Otto Dix, a German painter from the beginning of last century (1891 – 1969) associated with the expressionism movement. He painted the atrocities of war like no other. Some of his work were also burnt by the Nazi regime, considered as “degenerate art”. Jean Labourdette also admires Flemish primitives painters, Jan Van Eyck and of course Jérome Bosch who like Jean, are obsessed with details. “A fly fucker” he laughs. His discoveries in classicism are rather random “It’s always a chance encounter, walking in a museum, finding a new book, or stumbling upon something and feeling an emotion. From there, I learn about the painter, his story and his journey.”
After over fifteen years painting full time, Turf One won his bet : he exhibits in famous galleries in Canada, America, in France; he participates in numerous events such as the sumptuous “expo Hey” (organised by the magazine with the same name) every year at “La Halle St Pierre” in Paris. A distinguished career.
Tattooing and Jean Labourdette. - « Very young, I had a fascination for tattooing… I did my first tattoo at Bruno’s in Pigalle (district of Paris) in 94. He’s long gone now. And I was lucky to make some encounters, people who were for me, really big inspirations artistic wise, such as Tin-Tin, who’s work I admired before knowing him, we’ve become friends since. Filip Leu, his work really touched me. Easy Sacha (Mystery Tattoo Club)… Finally I have the work of a lot of buddies on my own body, it’s really a story about friendship and the persons’ work which I admire. It is something to actually wear somebody’s piece of work your whole life, might as well get along with them ! It would really piss me off to have tattoos by assholes, as beautiful as they may be. I often had the opportunity to do portraits of tattoo artist; there’s an artistic exchange that goes with the tattoo, tattoo against painting. It’s also my personal art collection that I always have on me.”
From brush to tattoo machine, the way isn’t long, it’s been wandering for years in Turf’s head. In 2014, Pierre Chapelan, boss of Tattoomania, famous shop in Montreal, suggests that he tries it. The adventure will be a short one for Jean: some troubles with his hand and sinews will make him stop the experience after 6 short months. An obligation, to avoid the risk of not being able to paint again. Optimistic, he doesn’t have many regrets and even rejoices that he had the chance of trying the techniques of tattooing.
Despite his agenda being completely packed, Jean still finds the time to engage in combat. In 2016, Montreal’s city hall, proposed a new law, forbidding the possession of dogs called “Pit Bull”, a race which isn’t really one, with a grotesque regulation for those who already adopted one. The law leaves a great part of the town’s population in shock. Manifestations are organised Jean extremely enraged by this law, takes part with the SPCA in order to defend these animals. (here’s a link for their website http://www.spca.com/?lang=en ). He participates in the protests, offers other artists in Montreal, paintings, prints, t-shirts at an art exhibit organised by the association in order to gain some funds (fonds) for the SPCA. He also gives interviews and actively aids the SPCA in their battle against the local council of Montreal. A good occasion for Turf One to dig out his spray cans. He makes two amazing frescos, a shout out to the public opinion on the matter at stake.
To conclude, we absolutely must tell you about his new project in collaboration with his wife Lela. A production of animation completely crazy, “Pathetic theatre”, we only saw the trailer and we’re still laughing (go to www.pathetictheater.com). You can find Jean’s universe in a muppet show for adults with a very cynical humor, a real treat.
You may find Jean’s work on his website and other pages : www.jeanlabourdette.com instagram: jeanlabourdette Facebook: jean Labourdette report : DHK trad: James C
