Malibu-based artist and French native Anthony Jegu creates his own ancestral backstory via his art.
By Michael Aushenker / Special to The Malibu Times
In February, a week before becoming the first Frenchman to win the Academy Award as lead actor for his bedazzling performance in “The Artist,” actor Jean Dujardin bought a small handmade statuette made by Malibu artist Anthony Jegu. There’s no telling whether “The Idol” brought the actor bon chance. However, luck seems to be smiling down on his fellow Gallic creative Jegu.
Jegu, who works out of a home studio in the Civic Center area, will be exhibiting his latest works at a new exhibition Friday at The Gallery in Culver City. Jegu’s collection, titled “Octoputsch,” fuses cultural iconography borrowed from Asian, African, and Mayan/Aztec/Inca civilizations, along with a touch of Greek mythology. It also represents his life through age 25.
Now 35, Jegu spent the second half of his twenties in Asia (Tokyo, Bangkok, Shanghai) as well as Senegal, Morocco and Egypt. He studied woodwork on the Japanese island Miyajina with an old mentor, “an island,” he said, “of 10 people, not very far from Hiroshima.” Of course, the imagery from his travels informs his work. “I was very impressed by Malaysia and Thailand,” Jegu says.
Jegu’s background, shrouded almost purposely in mystery, also plays heavily into his art. Originally from Paris’ working-class 19th arrondissement, which has experienced social upheaval in recent years due to immigration and class conflict, Jegu as a Caucasian teen was also surrounded by friends of many ethnicities and backgrounds.
“I was able to find everything for my friends,” he says, leaving it at that. American East Coast hip-hop, such as Public Enemy, whose first Paris concert at the Zenith Stadium Jegu caught in the late ’80s, provided the soundtrack of his turbulent youth.
Then there is the matter of his family history. “Both of my parents were orphans,” said Jegu, himself adopted. But he was reluctant to delve further into many of the rougher details of his life and family history—for reasons of privacy and preserving the mystery of his art.
Unsure of his true ethnic background, and lacking a personal history, Jegu makes it up instead. Each panel teems with personal codes, symbols and hieroglyphics, referencing different layers of his life. His most ambitious works take four months to complete.
Many have compared Jegu’s work to H.H. Giger, the lauded Swiss artist whose designs irrevocably influenced science-fiction cinema. There are even surface similarities–Giger designed the alien in the “Alien” movies and worked on the Batmobile in “Batman Forever,” while Jegu moonlights on feature films, creating design work for Hatch, a Marina del Rey-based special effects house led by Swiss matte artist Dick Deack. Jegu contributed work to “The Book of Eli” starring Denzel Washington, as well as the ornate palace in the Sasha Baron Cohen comedy “The Dictator.”
However, despite the similarities, Jegu says he does not approach his art from a science-fiction angle.
Deack, who contributed to the “Lord of the Rings” and “Hellboy” movies, originally brought Jegu to Los Angeles to work on a trailer for “The Freaks Club.”
“We had a big connection together,” Jegu said. “He helped me every time I came here. Finally, after two years, I moved here.”
Experimentation with acid painting led to his current resin and metallic pigment sculpture reliefs in “Octoputsch.” Jegu calls his art “reverse archaeology,” repeating the term often in conversation.
When Jegu started out, he painted canvases in a style he compared to a Keith Haring, but it was a motif he wasn’t really feeling.
“I was just looking for my voice and my own world,” he said.
In 2005, his “reverse archeology” style finally came together, culminating with the “Octoputsch” series. Yet despite a seemingly fruitful career and daily ocean views from his home studio in the Civic Center, Jegu says, “Everything is fragile right now. I’m constantly organizing my chaos.”
At once personal and universal, his work appears to be connecting with others. One “Octoputsch” panel sold to a Marina del Rey real estate agent. His biggest sale came from Malibu businessman Larry Ellison. Jegu, who served as an artistic consultant on the recently reopened Nobu Malibu, will not go public with the figure, but it is believed to be a solid five figures. His art at the Culver City show ranges from $150 to $21,000.
Up next: Jegu is halfway through a 40-page children’s book he will self-publish. He is already planning the next round of work, covering his life through his mid-30s. After enduring a tumultuous 2011 in his personal life, he is optimistic toward the coming months, despite the fragility of his world. For Jegu, the future is wide open. As wide open as his past.