S’ENRACINER by Sophie Burbaloff, winter 2023-2024
“Do not cut its roots so as not to disappear. I look at the forest, the lungs of our existence. Its beauty, its richness, its plurality, its power. Its fragility in the face of man’s blind genocide. I look at the mountain, the ocean, the earth, incredible miracles. But I am a man. I lost my instinct, my navel took over and I try to do the best with my intelligence or my stupidity. However, I am sensitive and I know that only nature can root and save the living.
My work, apart from my vital and absolute love for nature and trees, explores the graphic and aesthetic aspect of the forest, with an aspiration to simplicity. The powdery consistency of the pastel plays with the grain of the paper and the trace of the brush, providing a texture that allows me to transcribe their vibrations. The white of the paper gives it its breath. My work on portraits focuses on the line which is for me the quintessence of drawing. It is he who reveals emotion, singularity, strength or fragility. Keep only the essential to express.
I also experiment with my writing on canvas or wood. I try the thicknesses, the transparencies, work again and again on the line, the trace, until I find the one that suits me and which triggers the visual emotion. It is a permanent exploration where technique and chance intersect and confront each other with multiple choices. This research pushes me to move towards other subjects with diverse aesthetics, perhaps towards more poetry or abstraction."