“All is lost, everything is transformed" is a series of paintings on paper combining watercolours or acrylic, walnut stain, Indian ink and sea salt. On the white sheet of paper, one, two or three round shapes are linked to one or two carrond shapes like tentacles. The carrond is the artist's favourite form of equilibrium, the union of a square and a round. In this series, the artist sets in motion streams of blue, red and black pigments, to which she adds salt at different stages of humidity causing varying degrees of random discolouration within these shapes.
The artist gives a new twist to Lavoisier's scientific quote "nothing is lost, everything is transformed" giving it a philosophical dimension. "Everything is lost" for man, in other words the whole environment that has allowed him to develop exponentially on this planet. The round shapes here symbolise the Earth and the carronds the passageways. The tentacles are like filters, letting through only the most resilient elements. Since its creation, our planet has continued to transform, thereby proving its anti-fragility.
Not long ago the first algae expelled so much oxygen that it created our atmosphere, making the appearance of life on earth possible and changing its face forever. These metamorphoses, which used to take thousands of years, are now taking place under human influence in several centuries or even decades. And while certain species are adapting, others, many more are disappearing. Living things evolve as Darwin described so well. The only certainty is that everything is being lost more in favour of humanity, in particular the benefit of coexisting with a high-level of biodiversity, than of nature, which is evolving as it always has. Through this series, Maud Louvrier Clerc evokes Anthropocene-related upheavals.
Solo Shows - Les Architectes - White Room Gallery, Paris
