Sound, onomatopoeias and dots
A lot of the memories of my grandparents during World War II were sounds. During the bombings they went to underground shelters. It was dark. The memories that remain from these incidents are the sound of explosions, the sound of planes, people crying, ...
So, my question was: How can I introduce sound into my pictures? It's why I decided to use onomatopoeias (that were found in manga / comics) and to paint them over the prints using acrylic.
I started to produce the three images with the onomatopoeias on the black background (« VIUUU », « TATATATATA » and « ARRGH! »). For me it was like this: I took the memories of my grandparents and literally transposed them into the picture. (The underground shelters where it was very dark—black background with just the sound of people crying, sound of airplanes, etc.—onomatopoeias).
(I realize now that most of the time I use them as murals in my exhibitions.)
After this first experimentation I tried to add them to my pictures (« BAOUMM » and « Pluie noire »). I wanted to see how the onomatopoeias can add something to help understand the picture better or to feel / describe a sensation or a situation.
My third test with the idea of sound was with the picture « Pika Don ». Here I no longer use the onomatopoeias but I just paint the result of the sound / explosion of the image. Pika Don is a word that has been integrated into the Japanese vocabulary as a result of the atomic bombs. Translated, PIKA means the flash (brilliant light) and DON means the explosion, representing what was seen and heard when the bombs were detonated. After taking a picture of a flash, I scanned the negative and I destroyed the grain of the image with photoshop. Then I painted the "sound / explosion" result on the print.
. . . Are you working with sound (in any form) ? . . .
image 1 : « ARRGH! », « TATATATATA » and « VIUUU » 2013 paper size : 98 x 78 cm image size : 92,5 x 72,5 cm archival pigment print, FA Hahnemühle Baryta 325, acrylic, mounted, oak frame. unique signed, dated and numbered verso
image 2 : painting some onomatopoeias in Shanghai
image 3 : exhibition’s view at the Kunstmuseum in Thun, Switzerland
image 4 : exhibition’s view at the Deutsche Börse, The Cube, in Eschborn , Germany
image 5 : « BAOUMMM » 2013 paper size : 146 x 183,5 cm image size : 137,5 x 175 cm archival pigment print, FA Hahnemühle Baryta 325, acrylic, mounted, oak frame. unique signed, dated and numbered verso
image 6 : « Pluie noire » 2014 paper size : 147 x 117 cm image size : 140 x 110 cm archival pigment print, FA Hahnemühle Baryta 325, acrylic, mounted, oak frame. unique signed, dated and numbered verso
image 7 : detail « Pluie noire »
image 8 : « Pika Don » 2013 paper size : 146 x 183,5 cm image size : 137,5 x 175 cm archival pigment print, FA Hahnemühle Baryta 325, acrylic, mounted, oak frame. unique signed, dated and numbered verso
image 9 : Painting « Pika Don »
image 10 : « Pika Don » in the process
