Discover the contemporary work of Marc Boulay
I am a very fierce, atypical, left-handed mammal without tattoos. I am also an author, concept artist, 3D creature designer, senior digital sculptor.
I am at; the origin and main author of the book « Tomorrow, Animals of the Future » (Boulay/Steyer, Belin) and co-author of the book « How many fingers does an alien have? » (Lehoucq/Steyer/Boulay, Belin). My photorealistic works regularly illustrate scientific articles.
I am constantly imagining and developing new worlds, new planets and strange ecosystems. both improbable and coherent. Since 2016 and far from prying eyes, I have been working tirelessly on a theme that I particularly like: Speculative xenobiology. I, among other things, imagined and carried out “ Another World », « Another World2 », « Stellar Travel Journals and other field souvenirs » and “ Interstellar Postcards » of which I realized the final scene for the Planetarium de la Cité; of Sciences and Industry of Paris. I participated in à numerous works, exhibitions, conferences, innovative concept arts, large format museographic and cinematographic creations (I-Max, 360°, 8k/12k) with the evolution of biodiversity past, future and extra-terrestrial…
--
XenoBiologia: The Nature of the Future
"As we continue to move forward, exploring space, I think it is always possible that we will find living or fossilized organisms somewhere in the universe. But until that moment arrives, if it ever arrives, I am content to imagine and model what seems possible to me rather than believing in what is impossible." ✨🪐😊
Art & Science: Speculative evolution and xenobiology ...
Imagination is at the heart of the artistic creative process, because it allows us to conceive forms of life that no longer exist or not in reality. From an artistic point of view, these practices and disciplines are based on this ability to à imagine what could or could exist based on current scientific knowledge, then digitally model these life forms while trying to understand how they could function.
Here, in a few sentences, is my work process:
After very long moments of observations and reflections on the living world, I sketch and sculpt my ecosystems and my specimens with organic modeling software . I also sometimes take a sheet of paper and any pencil. Then, I rework the results obtained with various digital tools in order to obtain images or scenes close to what I had initially imagined. In general, the gap is very small, otherwise, I start again.
My research and work are carried out in my home studio in Normandy, hence my home studio. I only go out out of necessity. absolute. I start my days around 4 or 5 a.m. I like to work in silence, but sometimes in a period of total creation, I surprise myself. listen to non-commercial music. I enjoy one or two espresso coffees every day. cinnamon with lavender honey from Provence or garrigue honey, and also, I don't like snow: It's white, cold and made disgusting mush when it was snowed in. thoroughly! That's it, that's all. For more info, click here > marcboulay.xyz
