2016-2022
Les choses douces began in 2016 during a research residency at the artist-run centre for printed arts Zocalo (Longueuil, Qc). Ultimately, the series will consist of 26 prints (edited and numbered) using photoengraving and digital ink-jet printing.
Similar to an herbarium, which, in botany, is a physical medium gathering the collection of various studies of flattened plants, I collect graphic traces left by my studio objects: cardboard boxes, plastic fragments, old silicone caps, damaged acetates, etc. To create these images, I use a technique inspired by the photogram, that is, I use the volume, shape and material properties of each object to alter the passage of light, each time resulting in singular shadows. The objects I choose are at first glance commonplace, but they are all linked by my relationship with them, which is suffused with gentleness. Through their presence despite the passage of time, I experiment with the load of remembrance transmitted by the memory of my many manipulations, and, paradoxically, by the affirmation that any return to the past is impossible.
Photoengraving is the means by which I free the object from its material dimension to preserve only its indexed imprint. I am strongly inspired by an aesthetic that is similar to the positive aspect of X-ray imaging, or even to that of the Chinese-shadow play.
Les choses douces - a Gravure sur plaque photopolymère et impression numérique à jet d'encre. © Jean-Michael Seminaro
