Visiting Leonora Carrington
I went to see the opening day of Leonora Carringon - one of the Queens of Surrealism - at Musée de Luxembourg, and I am now VERY, VERY HAPPY.
Reflect: Listening to our intuitions is very important, especially as women - I believe - and even more especially as women who are interested and aligned with the spiritual dimension, which is how I would see myself. I mention intuition because as soon as I saw that this show was opening soon, I got so excited that I shared it with several friends to see who wanted to come with me to the opening. I went with my lovely friend Sofia, herself a fantastic Artist, Performer, and many other things, and we were so close to the artworks that the security were giving us funny looks. So my excitement definitely reflects my alignment with Leonora Carrington’s world(s), but also the fact that this was to be shown in Musée de Luxembourg, in Paris, and that it came at the perfect moment in my own exploration of my interpretation of reality through my art practice.
Plan: This time, I wanted to really evaluate the techniques used, and the details of each and every one of the symbols presented, of which there were many. So the plan was to take make videos of the details of my favourite pieces, which I won’t upload here as they will make the blog load slower, but imagine that the images below have just been filmed, very close to the piece itself, hence why the security teams kept their hawk eyes on us :)
Act: We went, and we conquered. I have so many ideas for new pieces. My dream world, my dream diary, more sketches and illustrations, and no need to stress too much about making only finished pieces for shows. Just create more, with less filter.
Observe: My intuition was so on point. I knew I would love this show, and I did. I actually wish it could have gone on forever! More surrealism, more female surrealists, more uncovering of the reality of how important they were, despite how much the male surrealists would almost “reduce” them “only” to Muses, but not Artists or Equals. Loved this show. It should have been bigger.
Actually, seeing all of Leonora Carrington’s illustrations and studies, reminds me of what I used to do, when I had free time, or when I was bored, or when I was in lectures, as my main technique for staying awake at university was to draw at the same time…
Below some of my fantastical illustrations from over the years, but especially between 2007-2010:
Oftentimes, I would draw without thinking about it as an actual piece of art. This was very liberating, and… I miss that.
So what I will do, in addition to the new Surrealist pieces that I am making, is continue to add to the body of illustrations, sketches, drawings and studies, just as before.
