High-flying encounter with Mathieu Forget

In the Forget family, sport is a family affair. How has it shaped your life?

In addition to my father's professional career, my mother also played tennis, and both my grandfathers were tennis teachers. I too followed this path... at least at the beginning! I reached a very high level, finishing as French 3rd series champion and winning the French Open. Initially, I played for pleasure, but the sport took on greater importance when I discovered dance at the age of 16/17. I had a revelation about hip-hop, and realized that I wanted to move to the United States to live my dream and dance alongside the stars I admired. It was tennis that enabled me to get a university scholarship to study there: dance, cinema, acting... I learned everything I need to do my job today. When I had to make a choice, rather than go on the professional circuit, I followed the path of my heart, the artistic path. I don't regret it, but I am curious to know what I could have achieved. Instead, I continued my training and came face to face with the reality of show business, dance, film casting... In sport, you either win or lose, there's no other way. But as soon as you enter the artistic world, there's work, talent, a network...

How does this sporting heritage come alive in your art?

All artists who have left their mark over the years have transcribed themes that were dear to them in their work. Movement has always been a part of me, first with sport, then with dance. When I was younger, I was fascinated by people who could leap, do somersaults, twirls... There's something superhuman about them. That's what's always inspired me, and what's given life to these rather atypical photos, this world of man in the air. It's still early days, but it's the story I want to keep telling.

What do you see as the similarities between an artist and a sportsman?

My grandfather used to say that an artist is someone who sublimates his talent to elevate it to the level of art. This is what Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have done for tennis, or Yannick Alléno for cooking. These are people who excel in their disciplines and make them easy, light and airy. The greatest artists have the same rigor as athletes: hours of work, sacrifice, organization...

Your media visibility has only increased, particularly since the creation of your artwork for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Can you look back at this collaboration and your concept of “Making sport fly”?

When I returned to France after the pandemic, my work started to get more and more media coverage, and that's when Paris 2024 contacted me. They were aware of my background as a top-level athlete, and were seduced by the way I mixed art with the athleticism required to do my signature jumps. I didn't know where all this was going to take me, but I seized the opportunity, because making a series about sport allows me above all to tell my story. “Making sport fly” brings it all together. So we began with a tour of the Olympic venues, where I immortalized each of the locations hosting the Games. It was on this occasion that I met athletes, and wanted to spend more time with them to think about new creations. I've received requests from some, contacted others directly... Sometimes it's the venues themselves that invite me to use their spaces. I have ideas, but I also let myself be guided by what life can bring me.

How do you manage to immerse yourself in these unfamiliar sports?

The most important thing for me in these projects is to get out of my comfort zone. Dancing, which is very versatile, allows me to master my body very quickly. All great athletes adapt very easily to other disciplines.

In a series of five photographs, you have also reinterpreted the Olympic rings. What was the creative thinking behind this work?

With the 2.0.2.4 series, I wanted to highlight sports that we don't usually see, such as archery and javelin throwing. We're always thinking of soccer or tennis, which get a lot of media coverage, whereas the Olympic Games are an opportunity to shine the spotlight on lesser-known disciplines. That's what inspired me. As I have a bachelor's degree in theatrical costume design, styling was also very important to me. There's a lot behind an artistic creation. When you see a painting, you might think: “It's just a line”, but every brushstroke, every tool used has its importance. There are lots of little details that make a work of art beautiful, and this is also the case in my work.

Are there any particular sports shots that stand out for you?

They're all unique in their own way, but it's often the first in a series that stand out the most. The one with fencer Enzo Lefort is special because it was my first collaboration with an athlete. Enzo lent me four hours of his time, and it was an incredible experience. I also love the photo at the Vélodrome, taken at the start of the tour of Olympic venues, where I'm trying to catch Florian Grengbo's bike. The one at Roland-Garros is also very close to my heart, because I went back to the Philippe-Chatrier court and did a choreography where I played against myself.

If you had the chance to collaborate with the sportsperson of your dreams, who would you choose?

I'd love to work with great French soccer players like Kylian Mbappé or Olivier Giroud. It's a sport I don't know very well, so it would be a great challenge for me. Having lived abroad for a long time, partnering with basketball player Lebron James would also be a dream come true. In 2028, the Olympic Games will be held in Los Angeles, so why not imagine the next series with American athletes?

With the Olympics just around the corner, will you be unveiling any new photos of athletes?

I think I'll reveal between 10 and 20 works before the Olympic Games. But the Olympics won't mark the end of this series. I'd like to publish a book of these images in a few months' time, while continuing to exhibit all over France and creating a point between digital and real. My photographs will be on show in Rouen and Bayonne from mid-June to mid-September, and I'm working on a collaboration with the Paris Museums during the Games. The aim is to be able to meet people and introduce my work to those who don't know it. And while 2025 will certainly come with a new energy, this project will live on!