Hermine Bourdin - Des plis de pierre et de peau – Echo

Although I don’t yet feel too concerned by the effects of time on my body, I’m well aware it’s a reality I’ll have to come to terms with in the coming years.

I liked Hermine’s first sculptures, with their smooth and harmonious shapes. But lately, she became interested in geological formations « patiently sculpted by wind, water, sun, gravity, time… »  and their raw beauty. She saw these folded cliffs, these tangled layers of sediment, as « a mirror of human skin ».

This awareness of the impermanence of matter has led her to explore more irregular forms of beauty, adorning her works with folds, asperities, ridges and hollows. She sought to make visible the invisible action of the passage of time, gravity and other elements on our bodies.

Hermine points out that «  in our society, there's this silent but constant injunction to remain smooth, young and unmarked. As if aging were a fault, a weakness to be concealed. Yet the folds of the skin tell stories, just like those of the earth. They tell of trials, of tales, of movement, of waiting, of life ».

And I find this shift in perpective beautiful! Reclaiming the marks of time as precious imprints « no longer to be erased, but to be honored » is not just a question of rehabilitating the aging body, but of making it a sacred, vibrant, complex territory, just like the landscapes she was inspired by.

Matching song: Enya - Only Time