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Hélène Alix Mourrier (*1988 in Le Creusot, France) is a French graphic designer, artist and activist. Mourrier is known for their specific way of working, in which they almost always try to convey activist content. Mourrier often works with the French transactivist organisation OUTrans.

Life
From 2006 to 2007, Mourrier attended La Martinière-Augustins in Lyon for their studies of Applied Arts, before studying Visual Communication at the École Supérieure Estienne in Paris from 2007 to 2009. For their diploma in 2009, Mourrier switched courses within the school to pursue a degree in Applied Arts, with a focus on Scientific Illustration. During the admissions interview, Mourrier announced that they would only work on the topic of transsexuality during their graduate program. After initially ending up on the waiting list, Mourrier obtained the Diplôme Supérieur d‘Arts Appliqués in 2011.

Mourrier then worked in various workshops at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts de Paris.

During their studies, Mourrier already worked as a performance artist and sculptor. Since graduating, Mourrier has been working independently with headquarters in Paris and has exhibited works in various galleries in Europe.

Collaboration with OUTrans
Mourrier started working with transactivist organisations in 2010 and defines themselves as a transfeminist. According to their own statement, Mourrier had already been working in a ‚feminist‘ way throughout their studies, even though not being aware of it. During first year of illustration degree, students are required to do an internship in graphic design, therefore Mourrier applied to the transactivist organisation OUTrans, but without success. OUTrans is a non-profit, self-governing trans* self-help organisation founded in 2009. It is mainly active in the field of trans healthcare.

Mourrier ended up working for the NGO Prévention Action Santé pour les Transgenres (PASTT) for one year, where Mourriers understanding of trans rights and deficits in the health system was developed.

At the end of the internship, Mourrier submitted the topic of her final school project, an information brochure on gender reassignment surgery. With this idea, Mourrier approached OUTrans again in 2010. The organisation agreed to work with them, and Mourrier began supervising an HIV prevention campaign for the group until it was time to devote to the final thesis. The aim of the brochure was to provide technical and medical descriptions and comments, which the designer had access to thanks to her teacher, Dr. Hasboun, neuroanatomist at the Pitié-Salpêtrière hospital, and combine the formal information with political content. Furthermore, the information brochures should be non-judgemental, easy to understand and caring towards trans people‘s bodies. Mourrier also made illustrations.

The MT* / FT* brochures were published in 2013. Although they were very well received in the activist and graphic design scene, the distribution of the brochures was discontinued quite quickly for economic reasons.

To this day, Mourrier continues to work as a graphic designer with OUTrans (e.g. for the projects LA TRANSPHOBIE TUE... PAS LE DÉPISTAGE) and other political associations.

Graphic Design
Mourrier‘s graphic works can almost exclusively be assigned to the themes of transactivism and feminism.

In 2017, Mourrier was part of the Biennale Internationale Design 2017 in Saint-Étienne, where the project Gynepunk was presented. The aim of the project is to denounce the healthcare system, and highlight the unequal treatment of women and trans people within it. Gynepunk calls for the decolonisation of gynaecology. Together with Tiphaine Kazi-Tani, Mourrier wrote a manifesto and researched content within a year. In addition, she designed the corporate design of the project.

In 2015, Mourrier designed an issue of the magazine ''Comment S‘en Sortir? (CSS)'' to honour the work of Black feminists.

In colloboration with Ariel Martín Pérez they designed the open type font Ouroboros contributed by the French type foundry Velvetyne.

Applied Art
Besides working as a graphic designer, Mourrier is also an artist, mainly in the field of performance (dance) and sculpture (mainly ceramics). Mourrier describes their work as ‚tools‘ for transporting (political) content.

''„I make a distinction between art and militancy. Art is not activism and graphic design can be in the service of activism. I like practices that advocate for others and are connected to what‘s going on in the world.“''

Repeatedely, the topic of sexuality and transexuality become the content of their work.

With 9 other artists Mourrier put together the exhibition Plastic Queer in 2015. The exhibition was located in a private house in Fiac, where the exhibitors represented queerness in the form of various objects and symbols throughout the entire house and garden.

Further Readings

 * Kazi-Tani, Tiphaine: Queer Graphics. The Critical Work of Hélène Mourrier., Paris 2015

Weblinks

 * Website
 * Station Station France
 * Decolonising Design
 * L'afiac
 * Velvetyne