Chronicle of the Organic Odyssey

Chronicle 06: The organic odyssey

The balance of Neo-Traditionals

The journey with Lou began with an exploration of the roots.

 On his arm and upper torso, we first laid the foundations for a dialogue between two worlds:

The arm (Oriental): A neo-traditional oriental composition where the fluidity of black and gray meets vibrant floral touches. You had to create a symmetrical response to your already present traditional arm, incorporate elements of pop culture and create covers, nothing simple in the end. It was one of my first big pieces: a full arm that takes the pectorals and the back of the upper back.

The Torso (Western): A central neo-traditional Western piece, a flower from Art Nouveau culture. I worked with colors that, at the time, fascinated me, especially green-blue. This shade has, and still is, debated its nature: green or blue? Everyone has their opinion, no one knows! With the graphic and symmetrical lines that anchor the gaze, we could imagine a mirror of the soul.

Once these projects were finished, we worked on symmetry on the hands. I was able to work on a motif which took up two humanly universal and symbolic symbols in all cultures: the moon and the sun. On one side a traditional sun, on the other a moon which leans towards blackwork or dark neo-Japanese. The sun being a continuation of the traditional, the moon keeps the same base but indulges in the abstract on the rest of the hand. Everything is in a triangular shape; aesthetically, it was a choice that I found very interesting because it opens the vision towards the rest of the arm while remaining elegant, like a garment worn constantly.

The Awakening of the Dark-Organic

Over the years, the project has left the beaten track to venture towards abstract organic.

The Neck: On both sides of the neck, Buddhist culture with symmetrical infinity knots has mixed with blackwork and abstract influences. Lou wanted to evolve this Buddhist project into something more dark abstract. This is what we did by developing our project; it was once again not simple, but it gave something interesting and very present. A departure in alignment with work on the hand of the moon, towards something more visceral.

The Stomach: On the stomach, ink no longer just decorates, it structures. This deeply dark Abstract Organic work embraces the musculature, creating an impression of relief and depth where the shapes seem to extract themselves from the body but also create a sort of symbiosis. References that are really the opposite of each other have resulted in this mix of unexpected things, like the Vampire Knight comic and neo-traditional references with repetitive organic motifs. This is where the overall balance comes into play, between the precision and symmetry of the repetitive organic pattern, the freedom of the abstract and its depth of black, as well as the addition of glyphs and color which respond to this neo-traditional flower on the upper body.

The Abstract Transition

Moving up towards the neck and chin, the style has hybridized to become more instinctive:

The Neck: A bold blend of abstract and organic that connects the parts of the torso to the rest of the face.

Under the chin: A work of Dark Ornamental, a dark adornment which highlights the lines of the jaw with new intensity.

Towards new horizons

This project with Lou was a real catalyst for my current artistic identity. It perfectly illustrates the transition to my favorite styles: Dark Neo-Japanese, Illustrative Blackwork and Abstract Organic. Each session was not just a simple technical step, but one more step in mutual trust which made it possible to transform a body into a living and constantly evolving work.

A clarification from the person who realizes: behind all these developments and transformations, it took a lot of letting go, mixing ideas and a certain foundation in one's confidence in the artistic realization of a project. Because if the epic was incredible and allowed me to evolve, more than once I could have collapsed on myself in the face of the challenge.