Between control and ‘let go’ with Tal Waldman

Born near Tel Aviv, Tal Waldman studied fine arts and architecture in Israel, then in Germany and France, where she moved to Paris in 1996. Studies punctuated by numerous travels – through Australian continent, Asia and Europe – and encounters that continue to nurture his practice as his inspiration. Playing with boundaries, his approach is at the crossroads of the arts, design and architecture. After conducting several experimental and collaborative projects alongside art craftsmen – one of them, Mémoires brodées (2011-2016), also included the participation of a journalist and a photographer – the artist For some time now, he has been developing a more intimate research, refocused on drawing and questioning the place of chance and the subconscious as creative tools. The result of this new exploratory work, his series Hasard Dirigé will be exhibited from 6 to 30 November at the gallery L’entrée des artistes, in Paris. For the occasion Tal Waldman agreed to engage in the play of words.

Childhood

“I remember long moments spent alone, reading in my treehouse, studying plants and learning to draw, to listen to them. music, sitting in the same position as my dog, watching the vinyl turn. They were intense moments of silence, exploration and concentration. I remember a phrase from Proust that said something like “you will never experience anything as intense as those afternoons you spent reading in your childhood” … I guess creating is looking for what silence and the taste of things peculiar to childhood. ”

Drawing

“For me, drawing is as natural and automatic as writing or speaking. I started drawing very young and I then explored nature further, in a figurative mode, body gestures and, more broadly, the graphic arts. Later, I had the opportunity to study miniature drawing in India, as well as technical drawing during my studies, then my work, in design and architecture. Today, I explore drawing as a tool to try to access my dreams and my subconscious. I have developed techniques that help me to make use of aleatoricism, which means to incorporate a dose of chance into the creation. It’s a bit like the rubbing technique created by Max Ernst. This allows the invisible, dreamlike, symbolic to enter my work. ”

Randomness

“It means a lot to me. It’s a notion that can refer to the reason why I live in France and not elsewhere, for example: I have a life story that made me travel from one place to another, until that I decided to stop there, in Paris, because I fell in love with the city and a man. Or when chance meets destiny. In my work, as in others, there is also a more intuitive language, where chance plays an important role. I like to draw a parallel with the calligraphy practiced by some Asian masters, which combines meditation and body movement. For my part, I am very interested in the notions of consciousness and unconsciousness; a certain understanding of the self, of the self, is essential to me. Especially in the work that I have been developing for two years through a series of drawings entitled Dirty Hazard, where I explore the subconscious as a creative tool, in a constant back and forth between control and letting go. I am interested in this delicate balance between total chance – it is not a question of luck, it is not measured -, related to a bodily action and to my state of mind, and artistic reflection, a usual form of judgment, something more intellectual and more controlled. This produces a series of very organic drawings, evoking almost the cellular universe, so interior. ”

Gesture

“It’s a tool. It is very important to me because I am very attached to my body. I like dance, physical expression. In an artist, the gesture is, in my opinion, a completely inner expression, conscious or not, but part of his work. For some creators, the gesture is even confused with their work. Me, I found myself on this axis, the gesture is associated with the whole body. The line is an extension of the gesture. Many of my drawings are “built” from lines; they visually translate my body language through the subjects evoked or the textures used. The paper participates as for him to make the gestures visible, even tactile. ”

Color

“The variable speeds of light contain all the splendors of the universe. Color is therefore one of the manifestations of the vibration that affects our body as well as our emotions. Color is the sum of materiality, texture and the relationship between the colors themselves. It is also a question of balance, between abundance and lack of color. The colors are very present in my life and even if I am aware of the effect of these on me or that I am attentive to those I adopt according to my state of mind, my use of colors remains intuitive . ”

Voyage

“It reminds me first of all of memory and identity. This is the story of a migration, mine and that of my family, to and from Europe. The journey also refers to constant movement and change, it promotes new experiences, the discovery of sounds, tastes, ideas, colors and images, all generating a form of renewal. Finally, it can be more interior, and signify a change of mind. ”

Liberty

“The notion of freedom is present in the first sense given to my work, in the concept, the support, the gesture, the technique and the material used. It is also related to how I decide to perceive it. I think it starts with a deeper understanding of self, that it requires to actively pursue an inner quest. It is only from there that I will be able to speak of an impulse of freedom in my work. I studied and practiced architecture and design, as well as the fine arts. This interdisciplinarity is essential and participates in my freedom. And I want to remain free of my choices in terms of theme, volume or technique, to go absolutely where I want. If it takes source from traditional techniques, the work that I developed in recent years integrates textile, wood, glass, embroidery, ceramics, paper, acrylic, resin, porcelain, recycling or digital, which allows me to experiment with hybridizations of materials and techniques. With regard to drawing in particular, my need for freedom is satisfied by the experimental process mentioned above, which includes gestures and techniques that I develop specifically. Although risky, but so exciting, I like nothing so much that the exploration pushed to its climax, devoid of any prejudice, so free. ”