La Tempête

La Tempête is part of my Parlour Games Series, which explores the boundaries of acceptability in the artwork we choose to display in our homes, utilizing motifs, colors, and levels of chaos in design.

I named La Tempête, which translates to “tempest” in French, after a storm as tempestuous as the image.
For me, storms evoke a sensory experience, encompassing the sounds, the feel of the air, and the color of the light. I hear clashing in this artwork’s discordant colors, a rumble in the scoring and searing of its surface, and I feel electricity in the shimmer of the gilded surfaces.

I associate this work of art with explosive autumn storms, which, despite their volatility and suddenness, bring about a sense of balance when the days become excessively hot for the season or when temperatures fluctuate dramatically.

Traditionally, the natural elements displayed within our homes tend to be tamed and controlled, reflecting human dominance over nature. With this piece and the rest of the Parlour Games series, I aim to introduce the untamed wildness of nature into our everyday spaces. The lichens that dominate this piece are as frilly and delicately beautiful as garden flowers. However, lichens are often disregarded, undervalued, and trampled upon. La Tempête serves as a reminder to appreciate and embrace the beauty that can be found in all aspects of nature, including the humble and wild, as well as the sublime.