Paysages Sensibles
(Sensitive Landscapes)
2023-2024
Paysages sensibles
cyanotypes on Keaykolour recycled paper with moon dust particles 250g
Paysages sensibles provide the backdrop for the series Les particules, the human tale of dying water, a photographic manifesto for the preservation of ocean ecosystems. After revealing the invisible microscopic, the artist fantasises about underwater mountains and meadows, and confronts the political possibilities of landscape. In this world, where the notion of up and down has been turned upside down, an ecological drama is being played out against which the power of the imagination seems to be able to play a key role: that of learning to see in order to live together better.
These underwater mountains, forests and meadows are veritable hotspots of ‘imaginary’ biodiversity, made up of photographs taken underwater or on the surface. The use of terrestrial references to represent underwater spaces aims to provoke a cognitive break: how can we preserve a place whose existence and richness are invisible to our eyes? These underwater ‘oases of biodiversity’, like the terrestrial ecosystems they refract, constitute the largest biotope in the world and are among the most exploited and least explored environments known to mankind. Underwater life is thus transformed by the reflections of a changing terrestrial world.
The regular grid pattern of the prints, reminiscent of scientific sampling campaigns or underwater archaeological digs, embodies man's attempt to understand and classify that which is beyond his control. This sequenced photographic process evokes both scientific research and the fragility of these landscapes in the face of climatic threats.
Paysages sensibles attempts to awaken environmental awareness, not through a naturalistic or documentary approach, but through a poetic reinvention of what a disappearing world might be. The work brings the viewer face to face with the invisible, allowing them to see the imaginary world of a changing environment, while at the same time making tangible the urgent need to preserve it.
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Paysages sensibles #3, 16 cyanotype prints 20 x 25 cm, 80 x 100 cm
These underwater mountains, forests and meadows are veritable hotspots of ‘imaginary’ biodiversity, made up of photographs taken underwater or on the surface. The use of terrestrial references to represent underwater spaces aims to provoke a cognitive break: how can we preserve a place whose existence and richness are invisible to our eyes? These underwater ‘oases of biodiversity’, like the terrestrial ecosystems they refract, constitute the largest biotope in the world and are among the most exploited and least explored environments known to mankind. Underwater life is thus transformed by the reflections of a changing terrestrial world.
The regular grid pattern of the prints, reminiscent of scientific sampling campaigns or underwater archaeological digs, embodies man's attempt to understand and classify that which is beyond his control. This sequenced photographic process evokes both scientific research and the fragility of these landscapes in the face of climatic threats.
Paysages sensibles attempts to awaken environmental awareness, not through a naturalistic or documentary approach, but through a poetic reinvention of what a disappearing world might be. The work brings the viewer face to face with the invisible, allowing them to see the imaginary world of a changing environment, while at the same time making tangible the urgent need to preserve it.
Paysages sensibles #3, 16 cyanotype prints 20 x 25 cm, 80 x 100 cm
Paysages sensibles #1, 36 cyanotype prints 20.3 x 26 cm, 121,8 x 156 cm