As an artist I chose Sulphur in the late 90s to create small and ambivalent sculptures. In spite of its inherent beauty, a constant characteristic of my works, sulphur was for me a vulgar element. The powdered sulphur, because of its strong repellent smell, was spread around the bottom of walls to prevent cats pissing on them. It was a low material, but at the same time, because it has to do with volcanoes and alchemy, one that allowed my imagination to run riot. And then, most of all, since the titles of my works were always descriptive and particularly significant, the word sulphur, soufre in French, sparks some eminently poetical associations like: soufre, souffrir, souffreteux, sulfureux [sulphur, to suffer, sickly, sulphurous]. The choice also fitted in with my desire to deal with a material not previously employed by other artists.

Jean Michel Othoniel