Véronique Robigou

Ocean et Terra Studio

More of the portfolio on www.oceanetterrastudio.com

Artist Statement

My artwork is inspired by nature and influenced by my experiences doing geologic fieldwork on land, at sea, and under the ocean. Arts and sciences have never been distinct nor competing pursuits for me but intimately intertwined in my personal, scientific, and artistic life. By instinct, I draw to figure out puzzling processes in the natural or my personal environment. Taking time to make observations and collect data creates impressions and emotions that unconsciously emerge, sometimes years later, in my artwork. I believe that the beauty and the poetic mystery that I find in nature result from the complex interplay of biological, chemical, and physical processes that shape our world. And that only in recent times has a philosophical divide opposed perception, ideas, and emotions to facts, rigor, and theories branding artists and scientists has having contradictory personalities and aspirations. Knowledge, and imagination are integral actors in my creative process, may it be scientific or artistic.

In the tradition of natural philosophers and scientific explorers keeping field journals, my projects start with questions, notes, and sketches in “carnets de bord”. My illustrated notebooks bear the marks of field conditions and capture my impressions while immersed in the environment. The records of these emerging ideas, and my field musings may turn into artworks in the studio – watercolor and mixed media paintings and drawings, geologic or artistic maps, or scientific illustrations. I aim to encourage viewers to wonder about the complexity, fragility, and resilience of the natural world. And to be awed by the beauty all around us that people seldom have the opportunity to notice, and even less time to reflect upon.

Posts about Véronique’s works soon!