Suspended time is the name I chose for my exhibition at the Samagra gallery. It presents two successive cycles, quite opposite in atmosphere, different in tonality and colors, but each evokes the notion of temporality and refers to the capture of instant images.
In the first cycle, it is about images and visions that reflect an experience deep within myself. It corresponds to the initial period of Covid, when confinement gave me the opportunity to turn my gaze inwards and listen to myself for a while. I tried to recreate these moments of withdrawal, withdrawal , when the perception of the world becomes totally subjective. During this disconcerting period, isolated in my studio not far from Monet's house, in Giverny, on the banks of the Seine, I watched for a long time the water being reflected in the leaves of the trees along the river, transforming into light. shimmering and vibrant. It was the time of the winter-spring seasonal transition. The explosion with which nature was waking up filled me with joyful excitement and wonder. A state that contrasted sharply with the feeling of unease evoked by the global health situation – my anxiety about a future full of unknowns and uncertainty. Isolation proved creative, the words of the American poet Henry David Thoreau echoed in my thoughts: "...it is only when you lose the world that you begin to find yourself, to locate yourself in the infinite richness of your relationships with people...".
Essaouira, the city of the winds, as it is called in Morocco, constitutes the second cycle of paintings. The impetuous desire to escape and the momentarily captured landscapes led me outside, towards the sensations provided by the sun, the wind and nature. My perception of the world changed direction, I was in the grip of an extrovert feeling. The blinding sun brought out bright colors and strong contrasts that I saw everywhere: between the heat of the sand and the coolness of the Atlantic, between the fury of the wind and the waves of the afternoon, the calm of the smooth waters and peaceful at sunset. And the shadows, chased by the impetuous wind, come alive and take flight...
We are only passing through here, fully aware of the chance to be able to seize this precious moment of life.
Rada Tzankova
