The Tourmente statue was created in Sarrancolin-Ilhet marble by Elke Montreal in 2021 at the Festival de la Sculpture et du Marbre de Saint-Béat-Lez.
This sculpture is a tribute to Marko Olavi, a friend of the artist who has died and with whom she was very close. It evokes inner conflicts and psychological tension, expressed through broken surfaces and fragmented volumes.
Elke Montreal wanted to transcribe infinity through the spiral, a figure of sacred geometry starting from the origin and extending to infinity, in the metaphysical sense. The tangle of curves and striated space can take the form of an open mouth. Another choice of title, in her opinion, could have been “galactic snail”.
Elke Montréal has a workshop in the Hérault region of France, where she offers sculpture training courses for all ages and levels. A former restorer of historic monuments, her work includes a statue of Saint Barbara, protector of miners, firefighters and, in this case, tunnel boring machines, for the Toulouse metro in 2024.
