Whispers from the plants 

Round and symmetric, shadows and light, sharp and vague, this creation by Carolline Auclair brings about softness and fulfillment. The shapes of the plants draw a dance-like movement, embracing an evocation of the presence of a moon or a sun.

The lower part of the artwork seems to be the reproduction of the higher part, as if microcosmos and macrocosmos mirrored one another, conveying the harmony and balance of the whole thing. Furthermore, a radiance emanates from the ferns that lightens the entire composition. Carolline Auclair’s work is all about the energy footprint of plants she collects. The artist explains:

“achieving the ancient gesture of collecting, I softly and respectfully gather the memory of the landscapes, of those so big and majestic spaces, at the same time so close and small, the macrocosmos and the microcosmos in the same move, for a moment. These herbs I collect remain precious, they are stars, icons which I put on the canvas or on a nest of leaves to create a contrast in the colors, a hymn to life. I try to make tangible the emotion I feel while picking by giving its energy back to its raw material”.

For this composition, named “Little sister, do you hear me?“, Carolline used only plants gathered from the Laurentides, therefore from the boreal forest: some sorrel that she loves for its heart shaped small delicate leaves and a lot of ferns that symbolized memory for the Celts, as well as sincerity, candour and fascination. The choice of those plants is deeply linked to the title, a question with many meanings aimed at the recipient: the artwork expresses love, thoughts, hope, pride to Jessica, Carolline’s younger sister. One cedar is painted up side down so as to become roots – this work is all about origins and family links. At the top, the flower –  milkweed – which remains as a print keeps on growing and transforming under the light of the nearby white circles: like the energy of love sent by the artist through her art, like the little sister the Universe seems to look after. “Little sister, do you hear me?” is also aimed at Roxanne, Carolline’s elder sister and beyond at all the women in the world, especially native women from the first nations. This artwork is no less than a message of love and compassion whispering from Nature to the Human kind, as well as a message of love and gratitude to Nature and its beauty softly sent by the artist herself.

Though, The higher and lighter part of the creation looks like a prayer, a meditation, whose light and clarity radiate onto the world below.

Carolline Auclair poetically translates her creation’s energy with these words:

“Do you hear me little sister?  I am with you. I cross a multitude of rivers and lakes. I travel through forests and deserts, I climb up the mountains, my soul has no boundary. Do you hear my heartbeats joining yours?”

Therefore, this artwork resonates with the family intimity and a bond created with Nature. Vegetal world and the landscapes, as come back to life, are the recipient as well as the depository of a message of love whispered by their footprint that the artistic work has made sublime.

“Little sister, do you hear me?”, 91x30cm – 2014