Gladiolus

In this series of vertical canvases produced for the exhibition Memoirs of archives, living memories at the Galerie de l’Entracte in Ville d’Avray, I invoke the memory of the gladioli grown in my grandmother’s vegetable garden… Their large, sharp stems, like swords (the Latin name for this flower) stood proudly, neatly aligned. But they were only fragile. All it took was a gust of wind to turn the beautiful arrangement upside down. The golden paint that enhances the scarlet petals evokes the preciousness of memory. We forget a lot, but certain images of the past remain anchored in us. Dialogue with the paintings: an installation of dried flowers. Time has passed, the garden no longer exists, my grandmother is dead. Only memory remains.