ALEX ROULETTE
Artist Statement
“An artist is nothing but a powerful memory that can move itself at will through certain experiences sideways.” Lisa Halliday (Asymmetry: A Novel)
Everyday encounters evoke recollections of the past without conscious effort. I draw from these involuntary memories of places and experiences, although I question the reliability of my memory. As more time passes the events get distorted and become more about perception and less about reality. Memories turn into myths and only recall chosen aspects of the past. When I’m painting I use the liberties the medium allows to dislocate objects and figures, recalling the hazy state of memories in which certain details fall into place while others fade away.
The paintings explore quiet moments when the familiar is disrupted, shedding new light on the ordinary. The fictional scenes depict unfolding narratives from an ordinary protagonist’s perspective, exploring how to relate to the world with a sense of curiosity. Each environment is fully invented, allowing the observed to mingle with the imagined. The realistic rendering brings immediacy while further inspection draws attention to the inherent falsehood, creating uncanny imagery speaking to the strangeness of everyday life.
I think back to moments traveling when time felt endless. Days spent on trains and buses, looking through windows to get a glimpse of the countless unknown places passing by. Each one containing worlds which I will never set foot in, nevertheless my imagination allows stories to form against these backdrops. Memories arrive without choice and blur the past with the present. The train will inevitably pull into its final destination in the dark. Waking the next morning in a fog surrounded by unfamiliar sights and smells. A sense of mystery is provoked by the unknown and unseen.
