Texte de Keen Souhlal (english)
I strive towards a delicate “State of Nature.”
For the project, Space In Between, I surveyed spaces in the urban and natural enviroment where encounters with nature are mediated by a silent fear of disorder. The work attempts to give form to a fragile equilibrium written in the ‘flesh’ of the landscape itself. I am frequently surprised by details and angles, by shades of light and how the minimal can suddenly become maximal. It is my amazement that keeps me going.
I seek out emptiness in order to bring shapes to the surface, and to discover my own inclinations.
When I travel I always focus on the space and the gaps between the natural environment and structures that are man-made, for instance in architecture. I look for the landscape’s neutral shades—its dreamy atmospheres and moods of heavy melancholia. Basic elements such as water, air and earth are essential, and so is the desolateness of the scenery. Humans or animals wreak havok on the established order of natural elements. Places are made to stand out through the neatness and elevation of line, the patterning of geometric shapes, the deep vistas, and the misty surrounding. These contrasts highlight what is poetic about the place—what is ordinary about them dissolves.
It is this veil of mystery and this metaphysical aspect that I so deeply appreciate.
I believe in showing a new perception of the landscape, in revealing an invisible gap and a strange beauty where people are not used to seeing one. I want the image to contain stories, not to tell stories or be talkative. I want my artworks to remain exposed to wonder, and to invite people to make discoveries.
The more projects I make, the more my interest focuses on this particular “state of nature”. I crave to concentrate my forces on new opportunities and new arts in order to energize my creativity. So I extend my work into other mediums such as sculpture, installation, outdoor projects, and experimental scientific photography. My work is crystallizing around a scientific aspect of ‘the state of things’; here that aspect is invested in the way reality and fantasy meld together.
Keen Souhlal