GROUNDING EXPERIENCES AND HABITATIONS - Connecting with the space
IDENTITY - Self Connections - Memories and experimentation of an expanded time in the present
The Archeology series is a grounding experience. I collect found objects near me, things that belong to my day by day life. They are sewed on canvas scraps with words and phrases in Morse code. All sewing was done with the canvas thread itself.
M CODE
M. Code, 2025, Archeology series, artist book, acrylic paint + sewing and embroidery canvas, 5" x 5".
11 POISONS
Eleven Poisons Diagram
Mixed media
10” x 100”
Cotton crochet threads, cotton canvas, stones, recycled small plastic bottles, industrial acrylic paint
Description
Rectangular and square fragments of cotton canvas of various sizes are sewn onto a 100 x 10-inch strip of the same cotton canvas. Both are primed and painted with industrial acrylic paint. The strip is fixed vertically to the wall, 5.9 feet high (corresponding to the artist's height). An excess portion of the strip extends onto the ground, as the height of the strip's attachment to the wall is lower than the strip's height. Eleven small plastic bottles painted black, and some small stones painted red are sewn onto the fragments. The bottles contained hair dye and were recycled by the artist after use. The stones were collected from the artist's garden. Words in Morse code are also embroidered onto the canvas fragments with black cotton thread and ecru thread reclaimed from the cotton canvas itself.
Some words about the work
I've been saving my empty hair dye bottles for years. They always make me think of my sister Louise. I'm quite tall by female standards and grew very quickly. Louise, 17 months older than me, is, on the contrary, short. She's 5'1". By the age of 5, I had already surpassed her height, which frustrated her greatly. She used to say to me spitefully, "The best perfumes and the worst poisons are in small bottles." What would be the worst poisons that these bottles could contain? Eleven poisons of civilization that must be eradicated for humanity’s survival. Anger, apathy, arrogance, cowardice, envy, greed, hypocrisy, ignorance, intolerance, perversity and prejudice are the ones I chose.
Why Morse Code?
I'm fascinated by codes! I incorporated Morse code into my work in 2020, and it's now present in several projects and all volumes of the artist book series "Traverse under a falling sky". There are several reasons why I adopted it. The main one is that it reconnects me with the past, makes me anchor. Memories are important because they remind us of who we are, where we came from, and allow us to choose a direction to follow. My father was French, and he learned Morse code during World War II; as a child, we would play exchanging encrypted messages.
Another aspect that attracts me to Morse code is that I like to include semantic content in my production; however, I don't want the discourse to overlap with the visuality and poetics of the work. The written form of Morse code has a graphic force whose aesthetics I enjoy, and for the public that wants to dive deeper, it requires the act of deciphering, offering a more prolonged and playful experience of connection.
From a philosophical point of view, according to Vilém Flusser, we have two types of media to transmit codes or messages: linear, where thought is expressed in text, and surface, where thoughts are expressed in images. Digital technology has inaugurated a new era in which image and text integrate, as the image translated into a binary system also becomes text. But we are still conditioned by the linear character of a narrative. It's necessary for "surface-thought" to incorporate "line-thought". Only then will we move towards a new mental structure. Morse code can be seen as a pioneering system of the binary system, a precursor to the digital era. The text in Morse code has a graphic visuality that brings it closer to the image.
BLACK LIVES MATTER
Black lives matter, 2024, Archeology series, stone and fabric sewn on canvas with acrylic paint, 16" x 12".
LIVES MATTER
Lives matter, 2024, Archeology series, feathers, ceramic, wood and fabric sewn on canvas with acrylic paint, 16" x 12".
ENDANGERED FAUNA
Endangered fauna, 2024, Archeology series, bones, stone, wood and fabric sewn on canvas with acrylic paint, 16" x 12".
SHADOWS OF TIME
Shadows of Time, 2023, Archeology series, stones + branches + seeds + acrylic paint on canvas, 59" x 50".
TIME IS ELUSIVE
Time is elusive, 2022, Archeology series, stones + branches + seeds + acrylic paint on canvas, 83" x 63".
Time is elusive, 2021. Video showing the work in process, 2:04'.
ARCHEOLOGY OF A LIMINAL SPACE & TIME
Archeology of a Liminal Space & Time 1, 2020, Archeology series, canvas + stones + wood + feathers + seeds + bird and wasp nest + acrylic paint, 52" x 61". Work featured in the Address Earth exhibition at Hudson Valley Museum of Contemporary Art in 2023.
The Archeology of a Liminal Space & Time is a grounding experience, a way to connect with our planet. How to pay a tribute to Earth and ground in a world we no longer recognize? I started collecting stones, branches, feathers, bones and other objects found in nature near me. They were sewed on canvas scraps to compose an alphabet, words and phrases in Morse code. All sewing was done with the canvas thread itself. I used Morse code during childhood; doing so in this project, brought me to my past. It was a way to anchor. Memories remind us of who we are, where we come from, and allow us to envision which direction we want to take. The resulting work is a flag representing our home, GAIA. Those shards of the daily existence constitute an ARCHEOLOGY OF A LIMINAL SPACE & TIME.
TREE OF LIFE
Tree of life, 2021, Archeology series, canvas + stones + wood + seeds + acrylic paint, 24" x 29".
The work “Tree of life” addresses the transitory and cyclical nature of our presence in the world. Death and life are complementary rather than opposite conditions of our existence.
HORIZON
Horizon, 2021, Archeology series, acrylic paint on canvas + stones + colored sewing thread, 24" x 29".
A FEATHER BETWEEN US
A feather between us, 2021, Archeology series, stones + branches + feather + fabric + wood panel and acrylic paint on canvas, 24" x 18".
THE FOUR STATES OF MATTER
The four states of matter, 2021, Archeology series, stones + branches + seeds + fabric + wood panel and acrylic paint on canvas, 24" x 18".
Sowing Seeds, 2020, Archeology series, fabric sewn on canvas with acrylic paint, 21" x 39".
Compositions
Bird Nest, 2020, 12" x 58".
Wasp Nest, 2020, 12" x 58".
Bird Nest, 2020, 12" x 21".
Wasp Nest, 2020, 12" x 21".
Gaia 1, 2020, 21" x 12".
Gaia 2, 2020, 21" x 12".
Dot, 2020, 12" x 12".
Space, 2020, 12" x 12".
Units
A
E
G
L
M
N
O
R
S
T
U
W
Letters of the Alphabet, 2020, 7" x 7".
A Larger
E Larger
Letters of the Alphabet, 2020, 7" x 12".
Paragraph
Dot
Space 2
Space 1
Punctuation, 2020, 7" x 7".
Other Paragraph, 2020, 12" x 12".
Plus
Minus
Polarities, 2020, 7" x 7".
Gaia
Terra
Earth Fragments, 2020, 12" x 12".
Studies for Compositions
Study 1
Study 2
Study 3
Study 4
Study 6
Studies for Composition, 2020, Archeology series, canvas + stones + wood + feathers + bird and wasp nests + acrylic paint, 52" x 61".
We are in a LIMINAL situation: the past will never come back and we do not know what the future will be.
Since the pandemic I left the city and came to live in the countryside.
Isolation has stimulated a profound reflection on the difficult times we were (and still are) going through, the suffering of so many people, and the increasing degradation of our natural resources.
A theory I read a while ago about the reasons that led prehistoric men to make paintings in the depths of caves, came to my mind and moved me. Prehistoric men believed that the Earth was the MOTHER of all living beings. The hidden spaces inside the caves would be like her womb. The animals they hunted for food were gestated there. In order to accelerate the birth of these creatures, they tried to identify them in the recesses and protrusions of the walls, detaching and painting them, thus bringing them to a concrete plane.
I found this theory very inspiring, and sensed a feeling of belonging, a great admiration and respect for our planet. I also felt a strong need of doing something through art, as a contribution to positively face the challenges we are dealing with now.
How to pay a tribute to Earth and ground in a world we no longer recognize?
I started collecting stones, branches, feathers, bones and other objects found in nature near me. They were sewed on canvas scraps to compose an alphabet, words and phrases in Morse code. All sewing was done with the canvas thread itself. I used Morse code during childhood; doing so in this project, brought me to my past. It was a way to anchor. Memories remind us of who we are, where we come from, and allow us to envision which direction we want to take.
The resulting work is a flag representing our home, GAIA. Those shards of the daily existence constitute an ARCHEOLOGY OF A LIMINAL SPACE & TIME.
Some additional thought:
Morse code can be seen as a precursor of the binary system. According to the philosopher Vilém Flusser, we have two types of media to transmit codes or messages: the linear one, in which the thought is expressed in text, and the one involving the surface, in which thoughts are expressed in images. Digital technology opened a new Age in which image and text are integrated, as image translated in a binary system becomes also text. But we are still conditioned by the linear character of a narrative. It is necessary that the "thought-in-surface" incorporate the "thought-in-line". Only then will we be moving towards a new mental structure.
