7.3.12

MATHIEU WEEMAELS: HUILES ET PASTELS


"At first, I used to draw almost exclusively in soft pastels, whose subtle tones, delicacy and luminosity seemed to be perfectly adapted to the intimate world of my pictures. Having learnt to make my own sticks of pastel from pigments, I can get extremely close to the tints and consistencies that suit me best.
There is nothing premeditated about my work. It is the fruit of a daily involvement in painting and drawing. I am in a sense the observer of my own activity and sometimes only understand what I have done much later. Over the years a number of themes have emerged and evolved.
The origins of my first pictures are to be found in the interior world of my studio: simple, everyday objects, some of which just happened to be there, others were brought in on a whim or were the result of discoveries made in the course of the work: candles, jackets hung on a nail, pieces of cloth, tables... Although I have always been drawn to representation, my intention has never been to copy exactly what I see, but rather to make an expressive work, independent of its sources. Fundamentally the real subject of my ‘corners of the studio’ is silence, solitude, and beauty, emanating from the objects, perceptible only when you watch and wait. The cold Belgian light is an important element, bringing with it something mysterious, a kind of nostalgia.
Mirrors occur frequently in my compositions. I have always very much liked to see reality reflected, creating the illusion of another possible world, another reality close at hand. I have gradually developed the idea of using mirrors like windows, or like a picture within a picture, a link with abstraction: a deregulated space in the heart of the demanding environment of figurative painting."