Decoding the world through Charles Auguste’s artistic direction

Charles Auguste’s practice, initially fed by a focus on physical disciplines like parkour, brings together visual arts and direction alongside performance. “The essence of my work lies in a co-creative relationship between the body and space”, seeking to “de-automate systems and places that are fixed in their primary function”, in Charles’ words. In interface with seemingly mundane and everyday urban objects, Charles activates them through body interaction. In a project titled Bandes Passante, he situates his interactions through the lens of disruption and reconfiguration. Choosing location, one could say he engages in an unconventional stage design, setting the scene for new reflections – “The question arises: will he let go? Or is he so gripped by the endless stream of digital imagery that he remains suspended, unconscious, unable to make a conscious decision amid the advertising overload of our contemporary society?”

Charles’ work is marked by a vulnerability within a given space, surrendering to the environment. His photobook, City Archives, is a personal documentation of environments waiting to be activated via body interaction. The spaces contain regular objects often ignored, the average passerby “untrained to read or question the city”, Charles says. It’s these intersections that he is most interested in, pinning points into accessible dimensions; using his body as a bridge, a conduit of translation. His influences are broad, spanning across the cinematic and performative – he cites Gilles Paté, Stéphane Argillet, Matthew Barney, Damien Jalet, Charles Ray, Will Dorner, and more.

Looking to the future, Charles Auguste wants to bring together sound, the body, and visual language through his choreographic approach. He finishes, “My intention is to design a bridging device that unifies all these dimensions.”