Dinosaurs, Bulls and Modigliani in Compton
Everyone who passed took photos,” said artist Jean-nil Laperle, of his yard, and there is no surprise there. The Compton-based artist, known as Debanlier, has some pretty particular lawn decorations; dozens of massive metal dinosaurs, scores of sculpted bulls and many other wonderful creations, all of which will be on display at the Salle Mathurin this weekend.
Debanlier’s alias comes from his great-great-grandfather’s name, Banlier. “I put the ‘De’ in front just to taunt people” he laughed. He will be showing his art for the first time in honor of his 70th birthday.
In total, 265 unedited sculptures and paintings will be on display for the Townships to enjoy, all of which were created in a span of only five years.
“It all started in a strange way back in 2012, it must have been,” recounts Debanlier. “I popped the tire of one of my machines. It made a flower. Later, a piece of machinery became a dinosaur head. I tried propping it on a rock. That didn’t work. Then, I thought of putting it on a pole. Same thing, it didn’t look right. But I had an old crane, and I thought, that’s it.”
Debanlier’s statues range from weighing 3 to 2500 kilos, and the height difference is just as astounding with pieces measuring between one-and-ahalf feet to over 30 feet. He has a collection of 24 dinosaurs, 43 two-dimensional bulls and ten humanoid sculptures.
“They stay outside!” commented the artist. “And I sure don’t bring them in when the weather is bad.”
“I collected old machines for about
twenty years,” he said, explaining where he gets the materials for his art pieces. “I wanted to make them useful, and possibly pleasant too.” Debanlier credits his beginnings in art to a hobby of his and his wife’s: “Ever since our marriage, about 47 years now, we’ve collected and refurbished old Victorian furniture.”
To him, the fact that his sculptures are mostly repurposed objects brings a sense of history to the pieces, a history that he has documented in a book called simply “Debanlier”.
“Every sculpture has a story, and you can find each story in the book.”
Besides his statues, Debanlier also produces paintings, some of which are reproductions and reinterpretations of famous works by masters such as Modigliani and Picasso.
“I love Modigliani’s ‘Le Nu Couché’,” he said. “I decided to reproduce it with ironwork on a fibreglass back. He was scandalous when he first came out because they were naked portraits but especially because they featured women with hair. The original recently sold for $170 million so I thought, why not try?”
His exhibit will also feature over 160 original paintings and 3 mosaics. It will last two days, July 22 and 23 at the Salle Mathurin.
As for whether more works by Debanlier can be expected in the future, the artist seemed too tired to think about it.
“I’m at a point where I think I’m going to take it easy,” he confided. “I’m 70 years old. The last few weeks before the exhibit were extremely busy. I worked 100 hour weeks to make my deadlines. But we will see!”