Annabel Faustin : ‘Le Soleil se lèvera de nouveau’ : The Sun will rise again

Annabel Faustin's paintings come to life at the crossroads of two worlds. Her themes are rooted in contemporary issues, such as ecological awareness and the new rise of feminism, while her gigantic characters and glowing colors seem to be straight out of a fantasy story. Even if Annabel takes a clear-eyed look at her time, her aim to take us away from the coldness of the real world to a more forgiving place, where man and nature live in perfect harmony and where solidarity is the order of the day. 

‘The media today are responsible for making us feel guilty with anxiety- provoking images and videos. Perhaps the role of the artist today is to remind us that it is important to start dreaming again in order to live better, especially for the younger generations, who are particularly disenchanted" she says. Annabel Faustin has always admired the artistic approach of Niki de Saint Phalle, who was able to transform her tragic experience of reality into colorful, large and strong female figures. Thus, her giant women are reminiscent of the famous Nanas, sometimes becoming islands surrounded by red boats, sometimes transformed into mountains with houses and cypresses. The colors and the light of Annabel's paintings contribute to a quasi-religious adoration of Nature. Very much influenced by her childhood in the South where she grew up 'embraced by the Mountains, and rocked by the Sea' as she likes to say. Annabel works with a tight palette of vibrant blues and oranges, inspired by the Fauvist painters who worshiped the unique light of the French Riviera. Recently, she also discovered the work of 19th century painter Utagawa Hiroshige, Japanese painter's prints in general who largely inspired her last paintings. 

‘The Sun will rise again.’ is the fourth solo show of Annabel Faustin. The exhibition is both an invitation to contemplate nature and a message of hope. 

This exhibition is a trip through imaginary and symbolic places. Inspired more than ever by her childhood in the South and spiritualities such as Buddhism and Tao, Annabel takes us far away from our everyday life in a magical fresh world of green mountains and islands on blue seas. The giant women go out from nature and make the sun rise on mini landscapes full of funny details and life : birds, rabbits, sheeps and butterflies, but also boats and mini houses. 

Annabel composed these paintings as a time travel and a way to reconnect to the light evolution during the days. We begin with the fresh morning light of ‘A simple joy’, we continue with the midday light of ‘The Water lily Lake’ and we finish with the darkest sky of ‘The Night watcher’. This time travel is a chance for the artist to explore the magic.

Here, Annabel also pursues her aim to represent a full harmony between humans and nature. The artist merges two classical genders of painting, the portrait and the landscape, in a surrealist style. Like some spirits of nature dressed in flower prints, Annabel’s giant women magically go out from the sea and the mountains, ready to build some new landscapes. Even if they are bigger than nature, their soft gaze and gestures shows us that their intentions are good. All the life around them seems to enjoy and embrace their presence in the paintings. 

The most important aspect of this exhibition is the creation. Annabel’s characters are fully part of the circle of life and the creative process around it. Pouring some water in a lake, making the Sun, the Moon, or the wind rising and the trees blooming. Inspired by classical art and buddha representations and sculptures, the hand gestures have a huge role in Annabel s painting. Sometimes wearing gloves to add some softener to the scene, the hands are here made to create and to protect the environment. With that exhibition, the artist assumes more than ever her aim to paint the act of creation to an act of healing, regenerate and finally giving life. 

For her first exhibition in Hong-Kong, Annabel offers us the most joyful and poetic exhibition. Behind the freshness of the painting,’The Sun will rise again’ has a political and philosophical message: learning to enjoy and to watch the simplest things in life with the purest gaze.