Inspired by the Buddhist philosophy of the middle path as well as other mystical traditions, I create visual spaces where realities overlap each others. I try to express a certain difficulty to be in the in-between, the oscillation, the wavering.

More than trying to destabilize the spectator, I question the power of the mind and the shortcuts it can take in order to solve a problem or an enigma. As a matter of fact, in my latest work we can see how, despite the missing part (i.e.: Petite configuration II) the mind re-creates the suggested shape; from memory it fills the blanks, when a totally different thing could be happening in the empty spaces. In an other example, like Configuration I, the mind is also put at work, but this time the lines are not following from one fragment to the other and it creates a discomfort, an unbalance that leaves us in an intermediary space; like an unanswered question.

For several years my research has been proceeding through superposition of layers (color and medium) and fragmentation. These two actions allow me to investigate two spaces simultaneously; the imaginary space (illusion of depth) and the physical space of the exhibition room; and therefore gives me a wide range of possibilities. Each of my compositions are made of squares, circles and/or triangles that seem to be individually linked to each other but are separated by a neutral space, the wall. Everything is happening in the encountering, the correspondences, the missing and suggested spaces. These spaces are multiplying, unfolding in many directions (physical, mental and spiritual) in a way similar to Deleuze’ folds (see: Le pli, G. Deleuze) which allows me to explore the domain of installation and, in some cases, work on site specific installations.

Françoise Issaly