Research Notebook #4Stéphanie Auger

Stéphanie Auger chose to approach her 2022 residency at the BPS22 through the prism of slag heaps, an emblematic element of Charleroi’s industrial landscape. The months spent in the heart of the Black Country gave her the opportunity to roam Charleroi’s “mountains”, gleaning several kilos of coal and bits of schist tailings from which she patiently extracted mineral pigments. After using these to make a gouache, she methodically applied it to strips of paper which reacted to the variations in light and humidity of the space at the Museum where they were exhibited.

Thus the countryside surrounding the Museum revealed itself in unsuspected hues, from a brilliant, intense black to infinite nuances of matt or satiny grey. In her unassuming way, with patience and hard work, Stéphanie Auger unveiled an entire chromatic palette inherent to the Black Country.

Texts by Léa Minault, Josianne Poirier and Pierre-Olivier Rollin.

BPS22 Hainaut Art Museum Publications, 2024
Language: French - English
44 pages; colour illustrations.
Price: €5

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