Destruction#2 Painting

My practice as an artist can be divided in two: electroacoustic music composition and abstract painting. However, it is the experience of medium through abstraction that is the constant of my work in both fields; the materials I use to create, be they sounds or paint, are always exploited for their plastic qualities. They are autonomous in and of themselves, possess no hidden messages, and refer only to themselves. My work as painter is akin to movements such as abstract expressionism and action painting. Once fixed on the canvas, the paint can be seen as recording every little movement, impulses and spontaneous gestures of its creation process. The spreading of paint, in its stretching across the canvas leaving area of varying densities suggests the dichotomy of emptiness and whole. In an attempt at organization, the painting is divided in "zones" - groups of autonomous entities - that are occasionally emphasised by thin lines etched in the medium. It is this idea of zones, also omnipresent in my music, which guides the composition of the image. In organising the coloured chaos, a reading direction is naturally proposed to the viewer. By forgoing any recognizable shape or pattern, and avoiding any figurative representation, I put the emphasis on both color and movement. It is by their transformation and superposition that they become the very subject of the painting, which in turn becomes portrait of matter and medium. No emotions, but sensations; only the experience of tensions, of the combination of forms and their variations. Émilie Payeur (Thetford Mines, Quebec, Canada, 1986) The electroacoustic composer and visual artist Émilie Payeur presents works steeped in the influence of the abstract movements of the 20th century, the psychedelic art of the 60's, experimental cinema and good old fashion surrealism. She currently pursues a master in electroacoustic composition (M. Mus) at the Université de Montréal, under the guidance of composer Robert Normandeau. Her research focuses on understanding and adapting her painting processes to her work as musical composer. Her compositions have been performed throughout the US, Canada and the world, in festivals and other musical events, notably in California, Texas and Kentucky, Paris, Brest, Lisbon and Montreal. She has been a Laureate of the prestigious Bourges competition in 2009, and won 3rd prise in the SOCAN's competition for young composer, in the Hugh Le Caine category.