t i m
PLAYTIME
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Typhaine Le Monnier
In Typhaine Le Monnier’s atelier, work never rests. Hands move instinctively while the mind circles around unresolved questions - shaping forms from fragments, discarded jewels and fleeting ideas. What seems repetitive gradually reveals a deep, evolving investigation into form and meaning. Repetition exposes the resistance of materials: the fragility of stone, the stubbornness of metal and the limits of turning thought into matter. Her practice lives in the tension of failure and discovery, doubt and intuition. Her work hovers between jewellery and sculpture, intimacy and collectivity – asking how we inhabit the world and the role objects play within it. In Playtime, play is no escape; it is a method of survival, a way to sit with discomfort and keep creating despite uncertainty. This book captures a moment in an ongoing artistic journey.
I S B N 9 7 8 - 3 - 8 9 7 9 0 -7 6 4 - 5
9 783897 907645 >
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TYPHAINE LE MONNIER
PL
A Y
TIME 20/06/2026 11:39
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Contents
The Neck as Pillar Doreen Timmers
6
Prologue — In the Studio Julia Wild
10
Act I — The Rules of the Game Julia Wild
14
Act II — Rehearsal Julia Wild
20
Act III — Play Julia Wild
26
Entr'acte
38
Act IV — Scenario Julia Wild
42
Act V — Drama Julia Wild
52
Interlude Cristina Filipe
60
Act VI — Performance Julia Wild
68
Epilogue Julia Wild
76
Translation [de]
Der Hals als Säule Doreen Timmers
Translation [de]
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90
Interlude Cristina Filipe
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top Vectorial drawing Scenario of the book – Playtime. 2026 bottom Collar – Area of a Circle: Stones 1 (Prototype) Steel, rose quartz, paint · 150 × 3 cm. 2019
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THE NECK AS PILLAR Doreen Timmers
Since the beginning of 2019, I have followed the work of Typhaine Le Monnier closely. With every new series I am struck by her lucid forms and carefully considered, ingenious solutions, by the combination of elegance and toughness. The first series she presented at the gallery was titled Area of a Circle (see pp. 54-57). Typhaine Le Monnier showed me neckpieces: robust, circular collars that closely embrace the neck. The collars are set with gemstones and ornaments in such a way that they both soften and emphasise the raw sensation of a choker. Typhaine’s jewellery can best be described as a quest for the essence of the neck, the circle. The circle is a clearly recognisable and multi-layered form for everyone; it is a shape that has preoccupied humanity since time immemorial. On paper we draw circles with a compass, creating the perfect geometric form of 2πr – constant and universal. Yet the human scale is not geometrically perfect; our bodily proportions cannot be subdued by mathematical laws. And it is precisely there that Typhaine’s investigation begins, leading us along a trail of artworks that function as exercises, as maquettes, in pursuit of this primordial form in a made-to-measure version.
to make, to create, but not the hectic nature of film making. Jewellery, on the other hand, is small and manageable, something I can truly focus on. I decided to explore this art form further.” Never averse to adventure, Typhaine moved to Portugal and begins her training at Ar.Co – Centro de Arte & Comunicação Visual. “Of course I learned to work with materials and developed craftsmanship, but the most fundamental lesson came from my teacher Cristina Filipe. She completely changed my perception of jewellery. Through her I learned that a piece of art jewellery is not merely an accessory; it can be an entirely conceptual field of work. A piece may be beautiful and wearable, yet as an art form it contains a concept, a vision imparted by its creator, and is therefore so much more than an ornament in itself.”
THE PRIMORDIAL FORM After completing her studies in Lisbon, the French artist leaves for a Master of Arts at the Hochschule Trier, specialising in Gemstones and Jewellery in Idar-Oberstein – the Mecca of stone carving for art jewellery. “I felt drawn to stones. Not simply for their decorative function, but for the stone itself, and I wanted to investigate that. In some way I wanted to discover the essence of stone. What is it that makes us attribute so much value to stones, and why do we add value to them through shaping and carving?” By studying stones almost obsessively, Typhaine also came into contact with prehistoric fertility figurines. “For about two and a half years I researched the form of prehistoric Venus figurines. These primitive
SMALL AND MANAGEABLE The quest begins when, during her anthropology studies, Typhaine encounters ethnological films by Jean Rouch, whose directness, simplicity and tribal strength greatly appeal to her. The French artist initially believes she too wants to become a filmmaker, but she reconsiders. “I wanted
·7·
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Act II
— Rehearsal Julia Wild The Chorus remains. The movement condenses. Repetition comes forward. 01 Chorus
Behold— repetition begins. An attempt returns. A form is set again. A gesture repeats. And yet— nothing is ever the same.
02 Voice of the Chorus
In repetition something shifts. A detail. A rhythm. A tension in the material. Barely perceptible— and yet effective.
03
Chorus (calm, rhythmic) Repetition. Variation. Shift. Material. Resistance. Idea. Process.
04 Chorus Leader
Forms emerge— as in-between spaces of a thought. They carry traces of the search, small deviations from which meaning grows.
05 Voice
With each repetition the material responds. It resists. It yields. It transforms. And in transforming, the idea shifts.
06 Chorus (commenting)
The same becomes different. Variation in return. Resistance shapes the process.
07 Chorus Leader
In doing, thought takes shape— and the idea does not remain untouched. What once seemed clear starts to waver. In repetition, it becomes clear what holds— and what changes.
08 Voice (calmer)
Rehearsal opens a space of discovery. Not in the first attempt— but in beginning again. Not in the result— but in continuing.
09 Chorus (softer)
Limit. Possibility. Transformation. Rhythm. Adaptation. Transition. Development.
10 Chorus Leader
In taking it up again, layer by layer is revealed— the possibilities and the resistances of material and idea.
11 Conclusion (together)
How does repetition reveal where something meets its limit— and where it begins to open?
The movement continues. Something is taken up anew.
right Necklace – Alternate Current Wave Rose gold-plated steel, agate · 20 × 2.5 × 3 cm. 2022
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· 24 ·
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Brooches Cardboard, acrylic, plastic stripe, amethyst, sandstone, wood, leaf, lacquered steel · 11 × 7 × 3 cm. 2012
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Act III
left Collars – Satélites Steel, brass, nylon, lacquer · 5 × 17 × 3.5 cm. 2021 Necklace – Venus Orange leather, freshwater pearl, blue synthetic line, paint · 35 × 20 × 1.5 cm. 2023
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Act IV
— Scenario Julia Wild The Chorus remains. The space takes form. Light enters. 01 Chorus
06 Chorus (lightly, commenting)
Behold— a space emerges. Not only the work— but its appearance. An order that directs the gaze. A structure in which something becomes visible.
The space responds. In the visible, change occurs. The gaze shifts.
07 Chorus Leader
Yet nothing remains fixed. A disturbance— and the structure begins to move. A shift— and the piece appears anew.
02 Voice of the Chorus
Light falls. A direction appears. Perspective sets a measure. Time settles over what is seen. And in this interplay, the work begins to appear.
08 Voice (calmer)
Meaning does not arise in the object alone, but in the space between— work, space, and perception.
03 Chorus (calm, rhythmic)
09 Chorus (softer)
Space. Light. Gaze. Arrangement. Effect. Distance. Time.
Relation. Experience. Shift. Surroundings. Connection. Adaptation. Resonance.
04 Chorus Leader
10 Chorus Leader
The work does not stand alone. It enters into relation— with space, with light, with the gaze. And in relation, it transforms.
What surrounds plays a part— still, and yet perceptible.
11 Conclusion (together)
Meaning emerges between work and gaze— in the space between.
05 Voice
What is set shapes seeing. What surrounds speaks with it.
The light remains. With each gaze, the image shifts.
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Scenario – Empty Stage, at Play Cardboard, paper, paint · Made by Perrine Le Monnier. 2026
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Act II
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Act II
Necklace – Stone Circle Galalith Rose gold-plated steel, galalith · 20 × 0.5 × 3 cm. 2023 Maquettes – Venus Studies Jasper,· quartz, 47 · agate, paint · 7 × 4 × 1.5 cm. 2014
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Act IV
Meaning does not arise in the object alone, but in the space between— work, space, and perception. [ Voice (calmer) ]
· 50 ·
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Necklace – Stone Comet Lacquered steel, amethyst · 15 × 5 × 5 cm. 2023
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Act V
And yet— in the stillness something condenses. Within the crack an opening appears. [ Voice ]
left Sculpture – Casted Hole in the Rock into a Nugget of Gold 1.5 × 1 × 0.9 cm. 2008
Brooch – Ventre (Belly) Silver · 7 × 1.5 × 0.8 cm. 2008
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Interlude Cristina Filipe
How does silence or pause influence perception and contemplation? [ Typhaine Le Monnier ]
· 60 ·
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Interlude — Cristina Filipe
Performance – Golden Circle Video and object· ·61 Brass · hoop, gold leaf, mordant liquid · Ø 6 cm. 2011
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Act VI
— Performance Julia Wild The Chorus steps forward. A figure enters. Movement begins. 01 Chorus
07 Chorus
Behold— now it happens.
(commenting, more animated)
02 Voice of the Chorus The piece is worn. Not displayed— but enacted.
03 Chorus
Not in space alone. Not in what is shown. Here— in enactment.
04 Voice
A person enters. And with them, the piece changes.
05 Chorus (rhythmic, quicker)
The gesture sets. Movement alters. The gaze intervenes.
08 Chorus Leader
The viewers do not remain apart. They see— and change. They interpret— and continue.
09 Voice (condensed)
The work emerges again. Not in making alone— but in happening.
10 Chorus (softer, more intense) Encounter. Response. Presence. Effect. Moment.
Body. Gesture. Posture. Gaze. Movement.
06 Chorus Leader
11 Voice (calmer)
What once stood is set in motion. The ornament follows— or resists. It does not lie still. It responds to every turn, to every gesture.
Thus the work becomes a gesture. An appearance in enactment.
12 Conclusion (together) In wearing, the work happens.
The figure continues to move. The work carries on.
right Collar – Visor Lacquered steel, acetate · 48 × 2.5 × 17 cm · Ø 13 cm. 2020
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Epilogue
In the Atelier – Work in Process. 2026 right Necklace – Spring Lacquered steel, quartz stones, nylon · 20 × 2.5 × 2.5 cm. 2023
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Epilogue
Necklace – Brickwork Lacquered steel, galalith, nylon · 25 × 4 × 2 cm. 2023 Necklace – Safari Lacquered steel, galalith, coral pearl, nylon · 20 × 2.5 × 3 cm. 2023
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Epilogue
Prototype – Ouroboros (Bracelet & Ring) Reconstructed coral, buronnite stone · Bracelet Ø 6.5 cm · Ring Ø 3.5 cm. 2026
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· 88 ·
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Behold— the end. And yet not entirely. [ Chorus ]
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t i m
PLAYTIME
p
lay
e
Typhaine Le Monnier
In Typhaine Le Monnier’s atelier, work never rests. Hands move instinctively while the mind circles around unresolved questions - shaping forms from fragments, discarded jewels and fleeting ideas. What seems repetitive gradually reveals a deep, evolving investigation into form and meaning. Repetition exposes the resistance of materials: the fragility of stone, the stubbornness of metal and the limits of turning thought into matter. Her practice lives in the tension of failure and discovery, doubt and intuition. Her work hovers between jewellery and sculpture, intimacy and collectivity – asking how we inhabit the world and the role objects play within it. In Playtime, play is no escape; it is a method of survival, a way to sit with discomfort and keep creating despite uncertainty. This book captures a moment in an ongoing artistic journey.
I S B N 9 7 8 - 3 - 8 9 7 9 0 -7 6 4 - 5
9 783897 907645 >
AF_17x24_Typhaine_cover.indd 1-5
TYPHAINE LE MONNIER
PL
A Y
TIME 20/06/2026 11:39