Camille Laura Villet
ParisMeet Camille Laura Villet, philosopher, psychoanalyst and lecturer.
Studies, readings, projects... Here is what she has to say!
Could you introduce yourself? What are you currently doing?
I am an anthropological psychoanalyst and a member of an association, the APA, which allowed me to build a bridge between my philosophy studies and a psychoanalytical practice.
Art also occupies an important place in my life. In 2011, at the invitation of the Centre Pompidou, I accompanied a group of young people on a tour of the museum's permanent collection. Our tour, originally scheduled for twelve sessions, lasted two years — and even led to the making of a 26-minute film, "Embarcation Beaubourg". This immersion in the museum allowed me to renew my experience of abstraction. I had never taught before. The Centre Pompidou asked me to design tours for 18-to-25-year-olds. I suggested we let ourselves be guided by the works themselves. What were they telling us? What secrets — about them, about us, about life — were they whispering?
Works of art lead us back to the mysterious source within us from which everything flows. It was an extraordinarily rich and moving experience, one that we shared collectively. We were touching on something that transcended our individual subjectivities and placed us in a space of very particular resonances.
I knew then that I never wanted to stop exploring, in all its forms, the connection between image and word. And so I founded Khôra imagination to bring together those who are drawn to this question, to share our research and our creations — and to open up a path for growth.
We need to create contexts that are conducive to the unfolding of sensitivity and the weaving together of different forms of intelligence. Contemporary reality is aggressive and violent. Individuals express themselves in a hyper-narcissistic and paranoid mode, often exacerbated by social media. Yet there is a gentleness and a power in the "I" when it opens itself to the Other. Art works to open our hearts and to cultivate what I would call a plastic thinking — fluid and receptive — rather than a merely learned one.
What memories do you have of your studies and your teachers?
University was a magnificent space of openness for me. I think I benefited from conditions that are now almost extinct. I worked with no goal other than to explore, to take in, and to shape myself to the greatness of thought. I began with an MA in English on Shakespeare's King Lear. Then came my encounter with pictorial abstraction. Philosophy immediately became necessary. I went straight into a degree at La Sorbonne. I understood very little of it, but since it felt vital, I persevered. Meanwhile, I was also taking drama classes. It was the twists of life that led me to psychoanalysis — and I took the bait there too.
There were no teachers as such, only encounters — guides who, for varying lengths of time, lit my path. It takes a great deal of patience and willpower to become your own light. I hope to achieve that one day.
Which philosophical book have you been particularly passionate about? Is there an author you fell in love with at first sight?
Being and Time by Heidegger... It took me a few years before the book came to me in Emmanuel Martineau's translation — which at the time was not available online — and I began to hear something in it.
Heidegger was my first teacher. He moved me to tears and made me fall in love with philosophy. He led me to everything I had wanted to know without being aware of it. He gave shape to vague intuitions. I began to be reborn through him. Heidegger — and ultimately his translators — gave me words to express myself, to organise my inner chaos, and to overcome my anxieties. Before this encounter, and the simultaneous discovery of abstract painting, I was adrift in a world to which I felt I did not belong. I felt deeply guilty about this, like the ugly duckling in the fairy tale. Heidegger held up a mirror in which I recognised myself. In a way, I was no longer alone. And that gave me courage.
Now I am very glad I did not stop there — that I did not get stuck. What I took from Heidegger is part of me. I carry it with me like the memory of a beautiful love affair. He is an integral part of who I am. I enjoy having a coffee with him from time to time, but no more than that.
Have you ever tried your hand at writing? Could you tell us about your work?
I rewrote my thesis, which was published in 2011 by Éditions de l'Harmattan under the title Voir un tableau : entendre le monde. I am currently preparing a new essay on the meaning of art and culture, built around a rereading of the twentieth century that I begin with the lawsuit brought by the sculptor Constantin Brancusi in the United States in 1927. I have not yet begun looking for a publisher. I would like to call this essay The Journey of Dionysus. We shall see... But it is very close to my heart. Telling you about it also gives me the chance to mention my ever-growing interest in mythology. It is the negative of psychology — its flip side — and an inexhaustible source of insight into the human condition.
I have other projects in the works involving artists whose sensibilities I particularly admire. Watch this space...
Thank you for offering me this interview.
Thank you, Camille, for sharing your story!
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