Emmanuelle Messika

"Painting, for me, is an expressive endeavor in which one depicts the evolution of the various facets of the artistic self. There is, on each canvas, a tension where violence and stillness naturally coexist. By playing with different materials, I seek to establish a sort of unexpected dialogue between these states, and aspire to express this tension through profusion of color.

The canvas is the stage that allows me to unite narration with the action of painting the fantastic—even the outrageous---and the everyday. I develop scenarios borrowed from the imagination, which join fantasy, even fables, with the everyday. Pulling threads from each domain, I bring together the mythical and the quotidian, so that the worlds of reality and fantasy merge.

I rely on “creatures,” improbable little characters that could exist in some other realm or dimension. They materialize, issuing forth from the surprising, unbelievable and wondrous world of childhood. Human or animal, both find themselves entangled in inextricable and melancholic situations. These inextricable situations create distance; the humor comes through this breach. It is the absurdity of their predicaments that manifests the humor in the work.

In each of my paintings, the sentiments are heightened by an intentional, provocative tone that transforms the work. An Otherness is attributed to objects; objects become personified, and by their very presence, they become witnesses or guinea pigs torn between and bound to their dilemma.

The titles of my paintings, whether invented or quotations taken out of context, come from literature, theater, or song lyrics.

Accident and chance are often major actors in my work." Artist statement.