WHY DID I CHOOSE PAINTING IN LACQUER ?

Did it happen in a fit of insanity or unconsciouness ? Not so. Just a teenager's case of "love at  first sight" !

It took place one evening. I was sixteen then and I attended a course of lectures with the aim of being admitted to the "National College of Applied Arts and Artistic Crafts". Until then I had never seen nor even heard of lacquer painting. Whenever we had a break, I roamed about the corridors of the school and pushed open the door of every studio to immerse myself in these realms which were still unknown to me but looked so attractive ! I imagined I had gained entrance to the College... That is why I pushed open the Coromandel studio. In the semi-darkness of that winter evening, there were, hanging on the walls, a few paintings executed by the college students. They responded to the gentle caress of the fingers of a magical moonlight. What softness ! What amazing beauty ! I was dazzled, mesmerized. My eyes were opened... That moment set my life ablaze.

I realize what a stroke of luck it was for me to  be chosen by the lacquer. Lacquer reveals beauty in a pure state. It is a substance of dreams designed to induce dreams. It gives rise to the sensuality inherent in life. The benefits deriving from its deep-seated beauty perpetually remain to be conquered so much so that I constantly desire to seduce it. As a consequence, I invite you to search through the countless treasures of imagination : the aim is to set its light in motion, to make its natural vibrations fit together, to let some questions unanswered, to let the mind wander freely. The essentiel thing is to offer an outline to the imagination : from this first stage we shall set out on our aimless wanderings, taking delight in our endeavour to make a way into the unfathomable.

I do not paint men and women but the original surroundings to which they necessarily belong : NATURE. Let's present that moment of fusion... vibratile, intense, diffuse, to their imagination. Let's present them with the strength of the tree, the smell of wet leaves, the sky, the melodies of the wind and the oriole. Let's present them with the irresolution of the mornings when we indulge in a brief pause, letting go while we are still between two worlds. And, above all, let's present them with water which is the source of life on earth :

"The soul of man is like water which comes from heaven and goes back to heaven"

Here is your composition, Mr Schubert, so upsetting : "The song of spirits above the waters"

After your poem, Mr Goethe : "Water and the soul of man are so much alike,
                                         Wind and the destiny of man follow the same course..."

I do not paint you, men and women, but I paint your soul. I request you to accompany Mr Henri Duparc on a journey : "My child, my sister, imagine how sweet it will be to go over there and live together...".

ANNIE    SLIWKA

Argouillet

24 390 Boisseuilh

FRANCE

tel / fax : ( 33 ) 05 53 51 08 38

06 84 39 21 22