Second Souffle (Second Wind), 2014

Three-part installation
Mixed media on canvas
3 × 120 × 120 cm

Second Souffle is a three-part installation composed of large paintings showing swimmers seen from below the surface of the water. Installed high on the wall, close to the ceiling, the works extend the painted space into the architecture: the ceiling becomes the water’s surface, while the viewer occupies the submerged position beneath the figures.

The installation displaces painting from a frontal image toward a physical situation. Scale, height and point of view determine how the bodies are perceived, producing an unstable relation between suspension, ascent and disappearance. The work anticipates a recurring concern in my practice: how an image can reorganise the viewer’s position and make the surrounding space participate in its meaning.

Installation view of Nageuse sur fond blanc, from Second Souffle, at Tables.empty.workshops, Montargis, 2016.

Views from Second Souffle: Nageuse sur fond blanc, Nageuse sur fond bleu and Nageuse sur fond bleu no. 2, together with an installation view at Tables.empty.workshops, Montargis, 2016.