What I Do Beneath the Sea is the first solo exhibition by Inès Di Folco Jemni.
She presents a body of free-hanging canvases from her recent production at sissi club, like floating narratives nourished by a situated and recomposed heritage.
~~~
The canvases float,
Free,
Anchored in elsewhere.
They undulate like the swell of waves,
Charged with the power of the sea’s turmoil.
At the edge,
Nature seeps in.
Through roots, it intrudes.
Wild grasses, unruly herbs—
Ferns rise like corals from the Prussian blue tide.
It infiltrates like imagination into the folds of our memory.
In darkness, it reveals its brilliance,
Drawing its colour from the ocean’s depths.
From shore to shore, stories emerge on the swell, intoxicated by the shimmer of water.
Anne Vimeux
~~~
Through the legends of worlds and times,
we find G., the hero. A polysemous figure striking down evil,
he slew the dragon of mysterious form that terrorised the city,
hidden in the pond, lurking at the bottom of the marshes.
Here, freed of his helmet, G. reveals the gentleness of his face and his impassivity.
In a black sun, one senses the austerity of duty.
His closed eyes and his floral aura.
On his cuirass, a golden heart radiates:
symbol of his bravery, banner of the courageous,
patron saint of warriors.
Mar Girgis, the martyr, the witness, calls for us not to yield.
He is made of tears of glory and iron.
G., a fabulous being, brandishes his sword!
The blazing blade, Mercy, like Perseus’ diamond scythe in grey water, pierces the creature’s heart, and the gorgon, mesmerised, sticks out its tongue.
The winged Beast, half-man half-animal, Minotaur or Asterion, bows before Horus and taunts his enemy, confronts his companion in a grimace, in a final surge of pride.
It is a composite monster—Crocodile, Serpent, reptilian Chimera—born of our burning desires.
It rises from the bowels of the earth and the power of fire.
The red of its tongue and the skirt of the young woman—powerful, active, deified—merge into the colour of blood.
She has abandoned her attributes of appearance—her jewels and her fabrics.
And, breasts uncovered, has aligned herself with the demon.
Arms open, she changes the course of her destiny.
Then the line that separates good from evil crosses every heart.
And who is ready to destroy a part of their own heart?
Élise Poitevin