Mathone - Portrait d'une cible

Portrait d'une cible is a work that deliberately adopts the visual codes of racist and caricatured representations of Black people in the history of the United States.

The stance of the character notably references Jim Crow, the caricatural figure who became one of the symbols of the racist dehumanization that accompanied the era of segregation. The deliberately infantilized and idiotic expression also borrows from representations historically used to portray Black men as inferior, ignorant, or incapable.

The bullet holes surrounding the character confront this symbolic violence with physical violence: that of an individual constantly designated as a target.

The barcode, accompanied by the dates 1877-1964, refers to the Jim Crow era and to how individuals were categorized, separated, and reduced to a racial identity.

But who is truly the target?

The support is one thing. The character becomes one. And, ultimately, the gaze we cast on him also becomes a target of the work.

This deliberately provocative representation is not intended to reproduce these stereotypes, but to expose them, to remind of their history, and to question how images can participate in the construction of prejudice.

This work is also a tribute to all Black people who have been victims of racism, segregation, violence, discrimination, and harassment, as well as to all those who have lost their lives because they were reduced to a skin color.

To those who were designated as targets.

To those who are still.

The damages visible on the work are deliberate, as they come from the damages inflicted on the target during a shooting drill.

Mathone — French Artist

Artist Mathone develops a singular figurative universe in which the human body, movement, and deformation occupy a central place. Through characters with eccentric postures, distorted anatomies, and marked expressions, he explores the expressive possibilities of the body and the limits of its representation.

His work is distinguished by a graphically recognizable language, characterized by strong outlines, contrasting colors, and meticulous patterns that traverse the bodies like a second skin. He also attaches particular importance to the support, which he regards as an integral part of the artwork, capable of prolonging or transforming the composition.

Fueled by experimentation and an instinctive practice of drawing and painting, his approach evolves between everyday scenes, cultural references, and reflections on human behavior. Each creation thus becomes a field of research where gesture, form, and imagination meet.

His work and artistic evolution are also presented on his official site: mathone.fr.