Sienna-Rose
My exhibition presents a dialogue between humanity and nature, exploring how human actions transform our environment and our emotional interpretation of it. I work in a variety of media, including ceramics, textiles, painting, photography and mixed media, to create immersive, emotional works. The exhibition invites the viewer on an imaginative journey through ecological concerns and the passage of time. My aim is to take the public into another world, using color, composition, contrast and repetition to create a sensitive, yet lively experience that leaves people free to interpret them.
The materials I have chosen are linked to the meaning of each piece. In The Tentaclyde, I’ve made my sculpture in ceramic to evoke underwater life, organic movement and touch. In Speculative Blooms, I’ve used luminous floral motifs inspired by the dots and childlike imagination of Yayoi Kusama. The faces that reflect and impact the colors of the flowers express the fragility of the environment with a sense of innocence and wonder.
In Thread of Life, I sewed an orange thread into one of my photos, creating a luminous contrast and symbolizing the regeneration of life. I explore my personal interpretations of time, its cycles, its effects and the possibility of renewal. The environmental themes continue in The Color of Hope and There Used To Be a Continent of Ice. The first one invites viewers through portholes into an underwater world of disappearing coral. The final bright orange coral offers a message of hope, even in the midst of destruction. The second uses charcoal and chalk to depict the melting Antarctic. Both works are inspired by artists like Tacita Dean, who reflect the complexity of nature with a quiet urgency. I want the viewer to reflect on the damage we are causing, but also to imagine a future where things can grow again.
In Silent Invasion, I take the audience to a dystopian New York, where nature begins to reclaim the city. I used one of my own black-and-white photographs as a base, and superimposed acrylic and Posca to show the contrast between urban life and nature. This work reflects the idea of nature reclaiming human spaces, and the balance between control and chaos. The colors and style play with fantasy, but also contain real textures and references. It's an imagined world, but not so far removed from our own.
Time becomes more abstract in From a Window, where I created three airplane views using dry pastels, depicting Earth and space. The work is influenced by Georgia O'Keeffe's skies, and uses soft color transitions to create a sense of escape into an exciting, unfamiliar world. I want the viewer to feel as if they are traveling, between the real and the imaginary.
Palette of the Seasons brings together many of these ideas. It's a large-scale work made up of five canvases, each representing a part of a tree through the seasons. I used vibrant pastel tones taken from the Japanese Color Dictionary and painted dots like flowers, snow or falling leaves. The work is inspired by David Hockney, and explores the way color, time and emotion interact. The tree becomes a symbol of growth within change.
The layout of my exhibition is designed to guide the viewer on this journey. The space is a half-rectangle, with two points of entry, and I use the wider wall to expose the journey that begins with works full of bright color and floral energy, then moves to black-and-white textures and urban tension. It's at the end of the room, which fits in well with the perspective of the photo. My photographs of New York City create contrast and help the viewer sense that change is imminent. Next, From a Window transports the person’s mind to a dreamlike sky, leading to a deep sea.
This order of presentation reflects the cycle of time: from the blossoming of nature to destruction and decay, and finally to imagination and regeneration. I want the viewer to come away not with a fixed message, but with a desire to observe more closely, feel more deeply, appreciate the colors and reflect on beauty, fragility of nature and the role we play in protecting it.
There Used To Be A Continent of Ice (January 2024)
Charcoal and chalk on paper
64 x 50 cm
As a reaction to the current state of the Antarctic, I play with the idea of time. I transport my viewers to the future to look at a black and white piece of penguins situated on a melting ice cap. Heavily influenced by Tacita Dean’s charcoal and chalk drawings of ice, I used the light-dark contrast to evoke nostalgia and eventually “regret” for inaction in the past, as though the existence of penguins and ice caps as something unimaginable.
Chien Parisien (October 2023)
Acrylic on plywood
42 x 18 cm
Inspired by the rich details of Art Nouveau artist Hector Guimard’s work, Chien Parisien captures the essence of Parisian life through the eyes of a poodle, an icon of French culture. The rich textures and earthy tones evoke the charm of a Parisian street corner, the dog's pensive pose suggesting a moment of quiet observation amidst the hustle and bustle of the city. The dimensions of the work force us to focus not on the grandeur of the city, but on the simple moments that define its spirit.
