Art Gallery at Evergreen, 2021

Romane Bladou
Sur le ferryboat, assieds-toi 

Romane Bladou is an interdisciplinary artist whose practice sits within the expanded field of photography and investigates liminal spaces and our sensorial relationship to place. She practices close looking as she experiences her environment while walking or taking transit. Bladou uses writing, sound, photography and video to record these experiences, and then uses projection and reflection to translate these moments into installations.  

This collection of photographs from the series Sur le ferryboat, assieds-toi captures quiet moments of waiting and the anticipation of arrival. Curtain-draped windows and table seating on ferry boats provide a familiar environment that encourages leisurely contemplation while in transit. As a passenger on a ferry, distance marks the passing of time and windows become a frame for this experience. As the landscape drifts by, the frame is continually refreshed with a new view, similar to the cinematic experience of watching a film. Through the window, Bladou documents the way light interacts with the undulating, translucent surface of the water surrounding the vessel, drawing comparisons to the way a windowpane refracts light. 

Bladou’s images speak to the understanding of place as transitory and in flux. Sur le ferryboat, assieds-toi invites moments of reflection and slowness while asking us to consider our relationship to place and the multisensorial experience of travelling on water. 

Images: Installation view of Sur le ferryboat, assieds-toi, exhibition at the Art Gallery at Evergreen, 2021.
Rachel Topham Photography