Aphonie et fragilité (series of 2 drawings). Soft pastel, gesso and conté pencil on paper. 64 × 50 cm. Available for sales here ︎︎︎
“Visible and mobile, my body is a thing among things; it's caught in the fabric of the world, and its cohesion is that of a thing. But, because it moves itself and sees, it holds things in a circle around itself.” ― Maurice Merleau-Ponty
These drawings were created and exhibited at the Drawing Research Residency at L’AiR Arts Paris in Oct-Nov 2021. They were inspired on sculptures by Chana Orloff, a Israeli-French artist who lived and worked in Montparnasse, the same area where the residency atelier is.
Although not considered her typical work style, Orloff did made a number of sculptures where we can see women in fragile and vulnerable poses, in which their faces are generally hidden between their arms. There was a strange force in these sculptures which attracted me. They made me think were we stood as women during her time. I chose her work as inspiration because not only she is a woman but she encouraged other artists to explore their gifts, embracing our vulnerabilities and our strengths. Somehow, Orloff’s sculptures captured an aspect of what means to be a woman (and also human) in pandemic and digital times, while inviting us to embrace our bodies, to speak out loud, to position ourselves, and to face the world.
These drawings were created and exhibited at the Drawing Research Residency at L’AiR Arts Paris in Oct-Nov 2021. They were inspired on sculptures by Chana Orloff, a Israeli-French artist who lived and worked in Montparnasse, the same area where the residency atelier is.
Although not considered her typical work style, Orloff did made a number of sculptures where we can see women in fragile and vulnerable poses, in which their faces are generally hidden between their arms. There was a strange force in these sculptures which attracted me. They made me think were we stood as women during her time. I chose her work as inspiration because not only she is a woman but she encouraged other artists to explore their gifts, embracing our vulnerabilities and our strengths. Somehow, Orloff’s sculptures captured an aspect of what means to be a woman (and also human) in pandemic and digital times, while inviting us to embrace our bodies, to speak out loud, to position ourselves, and to face the world.
In today’s digital age, intensified by the pandemic, artists and arts institutions are developing their digital presence and offering new virtual opportunities for a close, in-depth experience, thereby creating new pathways for inspiration, knowledgeand research. Artists from Drawing Residency at L’AiR Arts Paris, October 2021. Curated by Rahma Khazam and Véronique Devoldère. Visit︎︎︎
About the process:
Inspired on Merleau-Ponty’s phenomenology, I believe that the body is the first and most immediate way of experiencing and understanding the world. Having that said, I tried to incorporate this thought in my process of producing this artwork. The work process consisted on first understanding Orloff’s sculptures by drawing different body poses while myself feeling these poses. After some sketches, I allowed them to rest for a few days and went to sketching spaces that encompasse these physical feelings through collages from the first studies and dry pastel drawings. There was a lot of “not knowing”, pause, indecision and emptiness, which I try to accept in the creative process. In this period, I came accross the news speaking on how social media is toxic specially for the teenage women, who have been suffering mental or body-related issues. There was a dialogue that happened with the sculptures that I tried to incorporate in the drawings as a final reflection on the work.
Studies for Aphonie et Fragilité (collages and drawings). Graphite, conté, soft and oil pencil on paper. 21 x 29.7 cm