Nathalie Rey

This project began as an extension of my work with stuffed animals, one in which canvas compositions were linked into diptychs and triptychs displayed side by side on the wall. However, with all the ruptures and dislocations of the pandemic, such an approach began to feel an insufficient way to reflect my current state of mind. As with many of us, my social and professional world had shrunk considerably, yet at the same time, my artistic world grew, encompassing a larger and larger part of my everyday life. I thought of Louise Bourgeois’ Cells and how they, in a theatrical and immersive way, gave a window into the artist’s inner-life. And I thought of similarly Monet’s massive curved canvases in L’Orangerie, where the space was specifically designed to fit the vision of his gardens at Giverny. Thus, I began to think of this series in a similar way. I wanted to share my absorption into an intimate and private world at a time when so many of us were undergoing a similar experience; and I imagined the piece as a great circle into which viewers could step.

The construction of this work was also a concern. Rather than presenting viewers an already completed work, I wanted to share my process with them, to show them how my artistic world is constructed. This led me to build pieces of the installation in different spaces. Videos of my work were taken and live streamed, and when a section was completed, it was displayed in the space in which it had been made. As I worked, I had the idea to interview the curators of the spaces. They had been devastated by the pandemic and now found themselves isolated from clients and artists alike. These interviews allowed them, like myself, to share their pandemic experiences and connect with others in a time of great isolation.

Eventually, the physical aspect of the work was completed and I was able to display it in the round at Espai d’arts Roca Umbert in Granollers, Spain. Viewers could see both the exterior, with its unfinished wood and roughly stitched backs of canvases, and the interior, soft, warm and colorfully inviting. Alongside the installation, videos were shown of its creation in all the spaces in which I worked.

The final phase of this project will occur in March 2023 at Alalimón gallery in Barcelona. Here I will combine the pieces displayed in Granollers with a compilation of the interviews conducted throughout the process, thus connecting the artist and audience with all those who give so much of themselves to make projects such as this possible.