On the occasion of the release of his latest book “Moya and the Dolly Party,” Patrick Moya met his fans at the Mots du Monde bookstore in Nice. The artist fully represents himself as Dolly. And the famous pink sheep hasn’t finished making headlines.
Can you briefly explain your background?
I started out when I was young by doing comic strips. Then I attended a technical high school. That’s where I learned welding and everything that allows me to do sculpture. But I didn’t want to become an engineer or a welder, so I entered Villa Arson, the art school in Nice.
At that time, I developed the idea that the media of the future would be television and all digital media. And I thought if one could create a work live, there would be no more art history as we know it. During my studies, I did live television shows, where I was supposed to be the artist and had fun presenting. The idea was to become a creature inside the work, and no longer the creator. I started painting subjects around television because I wanted to become the main character.
I tried all styles of art. Like painting, sculpture, music, digital films… but always anticipating the success of the internet. I got tired of signing my name. So, I created a character that represents me, and the idea was for it to enter 3D software to animate it. Then it entered my painting, and I created other characters, like Dolly.
How was Dolly created?
I created the character for the Dolly Party. Initially, it was an emblem on the flyers with a colorful graphic charter. Two years later, I exhibited only canvases with this sheep because it was very successful. And over time, it evolved. At the very beginning, it looked like a real sheep, but I preferred to transform it into a sort of teddy bear. That’s how it gained its unique identity.
What is the Dolly Party?
The Dolly Party is an electro night that was born twenty years ago. Initially, it was a gathering of friends who attended other parties, like the Pyramids one. So, they decided to create their own party. The emblem is a sheep. They chose that because it was the time when sheep were being cloned. The idea was that if you came with your clone, dressed the same and of the same gender, people could enter for free. It became mainly a gay night, but later it developed and became very successful.
