On the Unexpected
Anaïs Boudot, Le jardin, 2021. Galerie Binome
Text: Federica Belli
The constant storm of ever evolving questions, the underlying idea of having taken the less traveled bumpy road, the frequent sensation of having cut all bridges to any form of professional employment, the subtle awareness of being somehow an outcast… So many factors make pursuing one’s call for her artistic endeavours feel like a quite stupid bet. With the road to recognition so tortuous and unpredictable, and such a demonisation of recognition itself, the artists are left in silence but well aware that – yes – recognition is fundamental to survive as an artist today. And that is where the loop of insecurities, paralysis, sadness, determination, vision, creation, insecurities, paralysis, sadness – and so on – is first ignited. And that is where the first skimming occurs, as a large portion of determined artists actually ends up succumbing to the weight of the unknown – will I ever make it? – and only few artists find themselves able to embrace the insecurity of such path. It is often not even a choice to be made, but rather a matter of recognising and accepting one’s own nature: am I at ease with a life of foggy questions and frequent ups and downs, or am I rather fit for stability and security? Both are perfectly acceptable as long as they respond to one’s own inclinations, and there often lies the only difference between artists who have another side occupation as opposed to artists who fully embrace the rhythm of their craft.
Mustapha Azeroual, Monade #32, 2021. Galerie Binome
And the fun lies in how, even when apparently one has reached a sort of stability and reliability in her life – especially there – it becomes more and more fundamental to escape from that. Any artist knows when the time comes to get out of the comfort zone of well known processes and rather experiment with a sort of work that completely shifts her creative punctum. And it is precisely the shift that fuels new ideas and generates enough energy to pursue a new vision. Yet, it is precisely the shift that also leads to a dilemma: as the output change, quite often the public of interested – and thus the professionals connecting the artist to the public – cannot be the same. Back to insecurity, back to the need for a new support network. And once again, it lies in the artist’s nature to be able see the unknown as a door towards unimaginable possibilities rather than as a frightening black hole.
Thus the artist keeps on creating, following her instinctual turns and leaving the questioning for later, when there will be something to question. Work first, question later, and then work more to close the circle. She goes on accumulating stimuli and ideas, creating and attempting to make a sense out of all the non-sense through a sort of sixth sense. But at the same time, she can’t help but break her rule and question her work. More than that, she will question her need for the unknown, her need for questions and her need to surprise herself. And the truth is, the admirable strength that pushed her till there is also her weakness, as once again she is swimming in the dark and looking for a shore.
MIKIYA TAKIMOTO SPACE 03, 2010
There comes a moment, then, when she will just surrender to the current. She will once again realise the push behind her creation was not to find a shore, but rather the opposite: the joy of getting lost in the current. And then she will get back to creating for the sake of it, fully exploring her questions and enjoying the unclear responses. But quite often, for some sort of joke of life, it is precisely when she will inadvertently bump her head against the shore. Someone will randomly stumble in her work. She will meet that one gallerist in the subway. That long forgotten email might lead to an unexpected comeback. Because no matter how far one is from the shore, surrendering to the waves will always take her back there.
