To be as close as possible to the textures in order to sculpt as close as possible to reality is one of the mottos of Sophie Bonnecaze-Laborde, who is fascinated by the expressions of rare or wild animals.

The boundary between man and animal is often fluid and undefined, and it is this theme that drives Sophie’s sculptures. Sophie began by drawing, taking a particular interest in human faces. As a teenager, she entered the Ecole des Beaux-Arts while studying law. Her pencil strokes came to the fore in portraits. But Sophie discovered sculpture a few years later, and that’s when things really clicked. As time went by, the artist became increasingly interested in the animal world, and in particular in species that are rare or have been very rarely represented in sculpture. Paleontology, the evolution of hominids, ethology and more specifically the behaviour of great apes, and the cognitive capacity of animals are all subjects she is passionate about, and which she expresses in her sculptures. Her work in clay, bronze and earthenware captures the humanity of the animal, to make us more aware of our own animality.

The artist applies patinas made entirely from natural pigments to her terracotta. The bronze pieces are cast using the lost wax process.

The artist works in close collaboration with her foundry to obtain patinas that are as close as possible. Sophie Bonnecaze-Laborde likes to surprise us with colourful bronzes, with subjects that are rarely represented, but she remains very concerned with the accuracy of the attitudes and morphological detail of the animals.