Fantastic, frightening, the world of Maël Nozahic plunges us into a world of tales, legends and numerous references to art history, literature and popular culture.
Graduated from French and German art schools, his painting is strongly expressionist and full of iconography. The artist takes pleasure in manipulating materials, in painting, engraving, papier-mâché or ceramics. In her painting technique, the watery side is prevalent since she dilutes oil with water to create a particular texture and keep a translucent feeling.
With Close, the artist depicts two wolves whose image is reflected in a puddle of water. In the middle of an abandoned amusement park, in Berlin’s Treptower Park, a frozen and desolate world replaces the childish life and happiness once present. Wolves, a fantasy of terror add to this ghostly aspect. These “totemic” animals symbolise human beings and ancestral myths. By developing a vast bestiary, Maël Nozahic created his Attractions series over several years (2008 – 2014), and then moved towards half-human, half-animal forms to arrive at new themes.
Close is a painting of desolation, brambles and ivy have covered the games and rides, there are only two sentry boxes left. We find ourselves in a state of transition: the state of disaster and ruins that man would have left after a period of entertainment and futility. The water, mirror of this frenetic activity, reflects the profiles of the abandoned huts and the thirsty animals.
The artist’s subjects switch from animality to the human figure, from arid landscapes to lush, detailed vegetation. Is the world she depicts idyllic or dramatic? By playing on increasingly acid colours, by enriching her canvases with botanical references, Maël Nozahic gives nature back its place. She thus questions the role of painting as a means of commenting on the ecological question. Without being herself in a critical discourse and leaving room for the imaginary, Maël Nozahic incites the viewer to create her own fable and the morals that flow from it.