Stamp Ligne de vie

Prune Nourry (b. 1985, lives between New York and Paris), a graduate of the École Boulle, works in a wide range of materials including clay, wood, bronze and glass. Sculpture is the backbone of her work, around which she creates ephemeral performances, films and installations. Collaboration with specialists, craftsmen and scientists, nourishes her process. In her work, the artist questions notions of balance and healing, as in her Catharsis project (2019).
In 2021, with Projet Phenix, she revived the tradition of portraiture and the intimacy between artist and model, inviting eight blind people to pose in her studio. Blindfolded, without ever seeing them, Prune Nourry sets about creating their clay busts, through touching and listening. Inspired by the myth of the phoenix, she uses the raku technique to fire the works. During the posing sessions, she records their stories and photographs their hands, whose lifelines also symbolize the story. This project stems from a very personal experience. To treat cancer, she had to resort to chemotherapy, one of the potential side-effects of which was the loss of an essential sense for her: touch.
For this new stamp project, Prune Nourry chose Aïcha, a student at INJA-Louis Braille (National Institute for the Young Visually Impared People), as her model. In connection with her work as a sculptor and the symbol of touch, her stamp is in volume. Aïcha's hand is embossed and the names are in Braille. White as the plaster of casts, this stamp shows us that we can see beyond the eyes and travel through touch. Drawn on a palm or a letter, the lines (re)connect us, our correspondences leaving traces, an imprint.

Original work by Prune Nourry
Printing: mixed gravure / letterpress
Stamp format: 40.85 x 52 mm
Presentation: 9 stamps per sheet
Print run: 450,000 copies
Face value: €2.32 Lettre Verte 100g
Stamp design: Prune Nourry
Imprint: Original artwork by Prune Nourry, Ligne de vie, 2023 - Layout Jean-François Aimé and Étienne Théry