Aux profondeurs (Into the Depths)

Aux profondeurs (Into the Depths) invites viewers to drift through an imagined underwater world, where clear water seems to reveal an abundance of life.

Created in 2004 in acrylic on canvas, the painting began with an exploration of pure colours. Their blending and transparency gradually suggested an underwater landscape, inspiring the painting to unfold like a dive among corals.

Curves, filaments and passages of light invite the eye to move between the forms. Some may suggest seaweed, fins or elusive presences; others open into a hollow or offer a glimpse of a passage. Textures mingle with veils of colour, as though each turn could lead a little further into this world.

In its four orientations, the currents seem to change direction and the forms meet in different ways. A shelter may appear where the eye once saw a ridge, or a silhouette emerge between translucent layers. Viewers can drift along, follow a presence or explore a hiding place, imagining what the next encounter might hold.

The desire to relive the pleasure of painting Aux profondeurs gave rise, the following year, to Effervescence.