JULIEN BONET - Refiner

Technique: Promptography on Hahnemühle Fine Art paper
Size: 50 x 40 cm
Edition: 3 + 1 AP
Year: 2024-25

Signed, dated and edition numbered by the artist on a separate label.

Refiner

The figure of the Refiner appears like a shimmering monad, a gleaming relic of an era when industrial refineries produced not only fuel but also identity. Her body is encased in a metallic, iridescent shell that is both seductive and repellent—a mirror refracting the post-industrial landscape and the mirages of technological promise.

Historically, refineries represent both advancement and dependence: They transformed raw materials into energy and thus progress, but also into environmental destruction and political dependence. The figure bears this ambivalence like a second skin. It appears both heavy and fluid, a sculpture in the transition between matter and illusion.

Bonet's work transforms the Refiner into a symbol of the paradox of our present: the hunger for energy and the price we willingly pay for it. The shiny surface evokes progress, while the emptiness behind the mask is a silent warning – those who see themselves reflected in it recognize not only technology, but also themselves as part of this system.

With masquerades, Bonet interweaves personal myths and collective history. The characters emerge from rituals and carnival traditions and simultaneously return to them: masks that remind us that behind every bright future lurk questions of responsibility and finitude.