Biography
// Sophie Tolachides is a geographer and interior designer. She lives and works in Paris. Her studies in drawing with the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs in Paris and in photography with the University of the Arts London (UAL-LCC), allows her to work on many artistic projects for the past 10 years. Her practice lies at the frontier between art and design. As one dialogues with the other, she approaches them as 2 complementary practices guided by the same artistic approach.
Her artistic approach is a research for beauty, in a world that has never been so threatened, and take the opposite way of the brutality of the imbalances we are suffering. Professionally, she has worked for 15 years, to correct and overcome these imbalances. With a master’s degree in environmental studies, she worked on research and development programs in North America, Africa and Europe. She studied the interactions between humanity and nature.
Every moment spent in a foreign country, was also a way to discover a territory, a culture, a know-how. These many points of view are now fully part of her artistic work.
// In 2023, Sophie responded for the first time to artistic orders. Sublimating a space with a textile or a photographic work is to bring a singular decor to it. Her work has found its way into private collections and the specialized press. Her company is also part of the FRENCH DESIGN community.
Approach & projects
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// Nature is my main source of inspiration. Wild or shaped by human, our lives are linked to its preservation. Over the years, humankind has forgotten its interdependence with the environment. Life is all-encompassing and we are wholly part of it. Inexhaustible source of inspiration, observing it provides many emotions through artistic work. Art pays homage to all those who shape it every day (as farmers, forest rangers, gardeners, etc.) and translates, through aesthetic work, the importance of its preservation. Whether through the fine arts, graphic or photographic work, the eye perceives, registers colours, lights, reflections. Becoming a sensor of the world around it.
// Photography is a part of my inspiration or a specific creative work. My camera never leaves me! I work as a painter using the movement of a brush, sometimes with a pointillist rendering.
// My photographic eye is also a support of my textile artwork. I find my inspiration from rural territories and urban gardens to work on drawings and gave them substance and relief through weaving or embroidery. I then work on designs that can be applied to interior design projects, such as decorative panels, wall coverings, rugs, tapestries, textile patterns... Each project is worked on as a unique work for private clients, companies or in collaboration an editor. Combining meaning and creativity is inherent to each projects : based on a know-how, a French production, with a lower ecological impact.
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Academic background
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2021. University of the Arts London. Central Saint Martins
Art, ethics and social changes, Short courses
2019. University of the Arts London, London College of Communication
Architectural photography, Short courses
2013. Institut CREAD, Lyon
Interior design, Certification III
2011. ENSAD, Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs
Drawing courses
2010. Sciences Po Paris
Parliamentary and administrative lobbying, Continuing education
2000. Université Picardie Jules Verne, Amiens
Master 2, Environment, geopolitic
1998. Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), Canada
Master 1, Géography, hydrology
For any information or project, please do not hesitate to contact me.
