My name is Marie-Noëlle Wurm, and I'm a French-American-German artist and puppeteer based in Montpellier, and sometimes in Montreal, which are my two heart-homes.

I think the creative part of ourselves is deeply connected to the natural world that surrounds us, and this is one of the foundations of my work. When I'm in nature, listening to the wind in the leaves or the chaotic movement of the ocean, I feel safe, whole. A big part of my process is trying to get to the truths at our core, the truth of what it means to be human: connected to a natural world that is so much bigger than us, and yet also connected to an infinite richness within us – our capacity for self-awareness, for creativity, for building imaginary worlds from within.
This is why I often mingle the real and the imaginary, the figurative and the abstract, the rational and the intuitive, the conscious and the subconscious. I’m interested in these transitional spaces, where boundaries dissolve and two opposing truths are brought together, sustaining and enriching each other — there is equilibrium, truth, found in the boundary between the two.

I love creating worlds that are dreamlike, whimsically playful and delicately dark — filled with magical or haunting atmospheres. Darkness, and ‘negative’ emotions are inherently part of the human condition – but rather than shun them, I think it’s important to integrate them, give them voice, space, and thus allow them to transform us.
Finding beauty within the darkness, shining light on our darkest corners, is what allows us to transcend the darkness, to grow, to keep coming home to ourselves. The natural world is a perfect illustration of this paradoxical truth, with its constant interweaving of life and death, chaos and serenity, destruction and rebirth.

This is why, in my illustrations and abstract work, I strive to explore the hidden, the subconscious, the places of the mind that are forgotten, and mysterious places of beauty: Places filled with knotted trees, crumbling houses, chaotic skies, lost islands, colorful nebulas circulating deep in the cosmos, underwater, in the deep ocean depths where wild and beautiful creatures exist— places that are hidden, peaceful and that reveal how we are part of something bigger than ourselves.

*****
I'm a self-taught artist that has lived in 4 different countries and dabbled in many different fields : I have two Bachelor degrees, one in biology and one in film and English literature, and have also completed a graduate degree in puppet theatre. These explorations into different fields are all little puzzle pieces that have built up my artistic practice and brought it to where it is today - a world perched on the edge of the real and the imaginary, which sometimes spills over on one side, or the other. Ink and watercolor are my favored tools when I draw or paint: their fluidity creates a constant tight-rope balance between letting the medium go and purposefully bringing it somewhere. It is fascinating, terrifying and exhilarating. However, just as I have determinedly wandered into different fields of knowledge, I also wander among the multitudes of artistic tools that are available today, and sometimes pick up graphite pencils, engraving techniques, ink pens, and dry pastel pencils. In this state of constantly shifting materials, which constantly pushes my boundaries, my passion and commitment to drawing out the images that arise from within is unwavering.