Alix Cléo Roubaud
Correction of perspective in my bedroom
Galerie Bucholz
Curated by Hélène Giannecchini
Gigi Moss
Walking into Galerie Bucholz, a single window filters a small amount of natural light into the room. The photos of Alix Cléo Roubaud are small, even in the delicate glass framing them, they take up little more space than a sheet of copy paper. Laterally displayed at eye level, they invite the viewer to examine up close. In this gallery stark LED lights against cold white walls and dark grey carpet create a strange liminal space, as though I have stumbled upon an empty or abandoned office space. The environment highlights the haunting quality very present in some of Roubaud’s photos, and juxtaposes the emotion and sentimentality in the others. One of the throughlines of this body of work is that all the images have been shot in the bedroom of her Paris apartment, then developed in the bathroom. Her bedroom, a deeply personal space in contrast to the sterility of the gallery, becomes an embodiment of her consciousness as the room transforms in each image - some very grounded in the physical space and others where the room disappears completely and the subject rests against the white of the paper in no environment at all. In this gallery there are no distractions, the viewer must concentrate on the images and the feelings they stir. The softness and ambiguity in her images evokes feelings of familiarity and memory while staying inventive and curious. In her diaristic work, a documentation of life in this one space, the images act as representations of memory as it transforms with time.
I really enjoy the style of writing used. The first sentences are structured like a tour of sorts, allowing me to visualize the space as I imagine myself walking into the gallery. But from this review, I am left wondering how the pieces are arranged, whether they are clustered together or spread far apart, as well as the quantity of work. I felt the number of works would add to the author’s perspective on the space feeling immersive, almost swallowing. I particularly enjoy the last sentence as it combines a metaphor for the feeling within the gallery and the literal photographs themselves.
ReplyDeleteThis review is very clear and simplistic, without any complicated words, and allows readers to imagine the experience of viewing the exhibition, as if being in a quiet gallery and slowly entering the space inside the photographs. The descriptions of light and space are effective, and the connection between memory and space touched me a lot. However, the article is almost entirely appreciative of the exhibition. I think adding more personal perspectives and critical commentary would give the review greater depth and individuality. Meanwhile, the review emphasizes atmosphere and emotion too much, and if more visual details of the works were included, it might help readers understand what the pieces look like better.
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