Celeste Labourde

Celeste Labourde

Painting [Birmingham, AL]

My work is a documentation of energy. An elaborate study in the relationship between kinetic and potential energy and the dynamics between the physical and the emotional. The image of a body frozen in motion gives us the opportunity to explore (indefinitely) the motivation and delicacy of a moment between people, be it the dynamics of painted figures interacting with one another or the viewer.

The medium of painting, and more importantly the usage of ink washes, plays a vital role in the exploration of these relationships. Although these images have a definite ephemeral quality they also have great visceral depth and solidarity to them. I enjoy painting with ink on canvas because it is a very honest process. Once a mark is made it is there. It cannot be removed or lightened significantly. When painting on such a large scale canvas with a medium designed for paper, the force of gravity often becomes involved, causing runs, drips and smear that are a reminder that we (as artists, as humans) are not always in control as we may think and that there are forces larger than us that are constantly at work.