Smoke Study I

Two large square formats appear at first sight, either of abstract paintings or of photographs, although it is difficult to say which. Drawings, volumes and perspectives can be seen. A subtle interplay of shades of grey and white suggests a probably fictitious space derived from a model before its enlargement to size, such as those conceived not only by photographers, but also by painters. Photography may have the upper hand, for little by little, one notices that the image acts as the screen for a projection that does not overlap but is instead thoroughly integrated. A sort of screen setting, like a receptacle of a projection that merges in. Therefore not really a video installation. Nor an environmental setting either, due to the absence of spatial and volumetric dimensions. The large square formats are in fact abstract paintings where an image merges in by way of a projection, defining a virtual blueprint which in itself creates an event. Sophisticated technology sends a fixed light beam which intermingles perfectly with the pictorial composition. This sets the scene for an external irruption which is subsequently identified as an undeclared flood or the gradual insinuation of light curling smoke, though too light to constitute a threat. One is left with the impression that natural elements intrude softly into this serene, almost clinical environment. What one is ultimately confronted with is the culmination of a long elaborative process. A process that starts with a drawing depicting the scene, followed by a 3D spatial simulation and the insertion of an impending action. This paves the way for the model’s materialisation, the real volumetric and « sculptural » space where the action unfolds. Finally, the unalterable painting is produced as it awaits the projection, itself realised separately. Each stage of the process cancels the previous one to emerge finally as a balanced hybrid, or total fusion, of two disciplines: painting and projection. Haudressy defines the consequent spatial perception of the initial model as « atmospheric ». The search for balance is a constant factor in the artist’s work who aims at reconciling opposites: material versus immaterial, two-dimensional versus 3D, natural versus artificial are all examples. He succeeds in doing so by combining different layers of representation and by establishing a connectivity between the different elements present in his production. In spite of its formal appearance and its recourse to a certain increased virtual reality, the resulting artwork could be described as meditative or even contemplative, calling on the intellect as well as on human emotion. (Bernard Marcelis)

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