the Secret Behind La Rêve
Alexandra Levasseur
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Nature is always visibly present in your work. Where do you escape to relax and get inspired?
I grew up near a lake, just beside an important National Park in Shawinigan, Canada. My mother still lives there. That’s often a place I go to when I need some fresh air and green environment. I also love to rent some cabin with my friends in any of numerous forests around the area. Feminine beauty, energy, and women in wilderness are reoccurring subjects of choice in your works. What was the starting point of these fascinating visions? The starting point was, and still is, the need to create images that intend to explain or understand the permanent mystery of being. |
photo: courtesy of the artist |
Delicate, sensitive, immensely rich and mysterious, your female characters are striking. Who is behind the thrilling portraits depicted in your works?
The woman in my work represent life and nature. She is the enigmatic beauty of Mother Nature.
La Rêve – Did you encounter this composition in a dream?
Yes, in fact it was made after an episode of sleep paralysis from which I "suffer" from time to time. Even if it can be quite frightening, I find it so very interesting and strange. The world of dreams fascinates me. It brings me a lot of sensations and inspiration.
La Theorie des Cordes – What led you to this intriguing work?
I like to study physics and astrophysics on my own. It is one of my strongest sources of inspiration. In physics, string theory intends to provide a unified description of gravity and particle physics. It is a candidate for a theory of everything and it's a mathematical model that describes all fundamental forces of forms of matter. In this theoretical framework the point-like particles are replaced by objects called strings.
The woman in my work represent life and nature. She is the enigmatic beauty of Mother Nature.
La Rêve – Did you encounter this composition in a dream?
Yes, in fact it was made after an episode of sleep paralysis from which I "suffer" from time to time. Even if it can be quite frightening, I find it so very interesting and strange. The world of dreams fascinates me. It brings me a lot of sensations and inspiration.
La Theorie des Cordes – What led you to this intriguing work?
I like to study physics and astrophysics on my own. It is one of my strongest sources of inspiration. In physics, string theory intends to provide a unified description of gravity and particle physics. It is a candidate for a theory of everything and it's a mathematical model that describes all fundamental forces of forms of matter. In this theoretical framework the point-like particles are replaced by objects called strings.
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Faux Paradoxe – What thoughts and ideas resulted in this work? (and why does everything sound so damn sexy in French?)
This one was inspired by the Twin Paradox. (Einstein considered this to be a natural consequence of special relativity, not a paradox as some suggested). My work is a lot about the concept of time, life and death, the memories and the question of identity. The concept of time as explained by physics and cosmology is extremely complex and a delicious subject to think about as hours slide by.
You have included a saying by Gaston Bachelard on Matter and Memory as an intro to the list of works you’ve composed this year. How did you come across Gaston Bachelard’s writings? Who are some other favorite brilliant minds?
He was cited by one of my favorite physicist Etienne Klein, on a scientific podcast on the Internet as I was working on that series. I started to investigate. I found myself mesmerized by his words, they'd fit exactly with what I intended to say with my images. I also love the work of Maya Deren, the books of Stephen Hawking and Kip Thorne.
What impact do you want your art to have on your audience?
In a larger sense, with my work I want to make the viewer realize the extraordinary chance we have to experience life despite the inevitable pain and misfortune that life brings. I want to communicate the mystery of the universe, the beauty of nature and human kind.
How would you define the role of art in today’s world?
Art is a document of "today's" events. It reflects the mood, hopes, preoccupations and actions of humans from a particular time and place.
What’s your lifelong aim as an artist?
My lifelong aim is to keep finding peace and joy in what I make everyday. I want my work to touch people’s hearts.