Exposition
Aurore Bagarry
Aurore Bagarry (1982) invites us to travel far away from the beaten track, far beyond the mere representation of the landscape. When we look at her photographs, we are not looking at picturesque views, but are plunged into timescapes, tableaux where geology evolves in a silent choreography, and where the passing of eras is sculpted by the light.
Through her iconic series, from the majestic ‘Glaciers’ to the raw ‘Rocks’ via the evolving expanses of ‘From the Coast’, Aurore Bagarry does not capture the moment, she reveals its full extent. Her demanding and meditative use of the photographic chamber slows down the work, imposing a patience that impacts on the image itself. The infinitesimal details of the rock strata, the texture chiselled by the elements, the nuanced colours revealed by the dawn or dusk, all contribute to a profound, almost tactile, sensory experience. It is no longer the eye alone that perceives, it is the whole body that feels the power of the forces in the work.
The artist deploys reflection on the constant flux of the world. Her coastlines, swept by the tides, reveal porous borders and shapes of monumental fragility. In the place where land and sea meet, ceaselessly eroding and transforming each other, Aurore Bagarry questions our place in the face of these vast timescales. She reminds us that landscape is written collectively, carved out by water, wind and the shifting plates of the earth, long before any human intervention.
As we contemplate her works, we are encouraged to feel our humility in the face of geological time, to become aware of the ephemeral nature of our own scale. The artist does not seek to tame nature, but to resonate with it, and to grasp its very essence: raw beauty, tranquil force, and constant reinvention. The Aurore Bagarry exhibition immerses us in the matter making up the world, in an intimate dialogue with the elements making up our planet, inviting us to look beyond the surface, and see where time takes physical shape.
The Aurore Bagarry exhibition is further enhanced by a unique voice, that of the artist Vava Dudu (1970). Invited to cast her eye over the ‘coasts’ of Aurore Bagarry, Vava Dudu takes us to other shores, those of the Caribbean, via a poetic and sensory exploration. Her words are woven from the sensations and rhythms of the island, and converse with the mineral and temporal qualities of the photographic images. This unique gesture invites us to see how land and sea, whether polar or tropical, murmur universal stories, transformed by the prism of vibrant responsiveness.
MORE
SCHEDULE