Fleeting Moments
Preface to the monograph Matrices des Mondes (Matrices of the Worlds), published by SKIRA editions, written by Maria Cristina Madau, artistic director
In her artistic approach, the photographer Muriel Pénicaud does not choose the sensational, but the poetry of life's moments in all its forms. What touches us in her images is the way her gaze is cast. She opens a breach in reality, creating a space of suspension in everyday time. The artist invites us to perceive these moments with a different clarity, she invites us to look at the extraordinary force of life, made of fleeting moments, freedom and wild grace. Her gaze is like a ray of light that illuminates scenes to reveal their hidden beauty. Muriel Pénicaud asks us to take a break from our ordinary time to lead us to a time of contemplation of simplicity.
The portraits that the photographer offers us are of great humanity. Without judgment or prejudice, the artist offers us a palette of emotions, which allows us to touch the intimacy of the characters without ever violating it, while preserving the dignity of these moments. The viewer is invited to observe the scene and share their emotions. Without ever exposing this scene, the artist makes us participate in a game of revelations that respects modesty and the magic of mystery. Each image refers us to a story highlighting a moment in the life of the character and questioning our vision of the world, in a cathartic movement where the viewer recognizes himself in the grace or in the daily life of these gestures and these looks that awaken in us a deep feeling of belonging to humanity.
We also experience deep emotions when looking at the images of birds, first of all because we are touched by the beauty, strength and majesty that emanate even from the most ordinary moments, but also because we are fascinated by these spectacular images of their aerial dances, which arouse in us this wonder and admiration for the greatness of this gesture so coveted, but which is denied to us: the flight. These birds offer us the joy of freedom, the artist invites us to abandon ourselves and let our spirit fly away with them.
Nature is always present in Muriel Pénicaud's scenes, it is made of all the nuances of the sensations that human, animal, plant bodies and those of the elements arouse in us. Matter and form express the depth of the content, from sentient beings to the play of clouds in the sky, without forgetting the stones that mark the earth or accompany man in urban architectures.
Thus, in the awe-inspiring images of trees, the artist asks us to silently listen to the earth itself, which expresses its tragic yet vital presence, sculpted into the woody body since an ancient era.