BIOGRAPHY
Johanne Issa obtained her bachelor's degree in Film Studies in 2005.
In 2008, she completed her master's degree in Visual Arts, Photography and Video Art at the Lebanese Academy of Fine Arts (ALBA).
In her practice, she uses photography, painting,
and ceramics.
Johanne is also the art director of the winery Domaine des Tourelles, a venture that has been ongoing for over ten years.
ARTIST’S STATEMENT
I explore and question the complex relationship we have with our inner thoughts and how they transform and distort to become an image.
We live in a world where ideas and thoughts are omnipresent, yet often fleeting and elusive.
My goal is to capture this ephemeral essence and visually translate it by creating works that reflect the depth and complexity of our inner world.
My artistic process is imbued with a fascination for how thought materializes and transforms into an image. A simple thought can evolve, twist, and metamorphose into an image, while an image can also evoke deep thoughts and emotions.
I explore this inevitable encounter between thought and image, seeking to understand how they interact and mutually nourish each other.
The notion of distortion is also central in my work.
I am fascinated by how our thoughts can be filtered, altered, or distorted before materializing into images. External influences, personal experiences, and biases can all play a role in this distortion, creating a subjective and unique reality for each individual. I strive to represent this complexity through my artworks, exploring the multiple facets of transforming thought into image.
︎
2023
IN OUR DRAWER
"There are only traces and colors, always colors and traces."
Each person can project their own emotions, experiences, and memories onto the artwork, creating an interactive artistic experience. These touches of colors become a space for exploration and discovery for the viewers, inviting them to delve into their own imagination.
This approach is based on the idea that aesthetic experience is a collaborative process between the artist and the viewer.
A series of 9 traces printed on cotton paper | dim; 120cm x 170cm
︎
2022
BENEATH THE WATER
Immersing oneself in reflection and observation, the act consists of journeying within oneself to self-nourish.
I use the movement of water and breathing to create a visual representation of this separation between the soul and the body.
The soul, often considered the intangible and spiritual aspect of the individual, takes the forefront and breathes.
A liberation of the soul, connecting to something deeper and universal.
A series of 9 portraits printed on cotton paper | dim; 50cm x 66cm
ƒ03
︎
2019
REVERIE
This work visualizes philosopher Jean Marie FREY's interpretation of the philosophical experience of rêverie, while interpreting that our soul goes for a walk, goes out of ourselves, and returns to ourselves. Just like exhalation and inhalation, from the outside to the inside.
The soul is the source of life.
Rêverie is an opening to being.
In this series of images, I focus on the process of creating images that is strongly linked to this phenomenon of rêverie.
This desire to create images does not exist without that mental detachment.
No image without rêverie, and no rêverie without an image.
A series of 3 rêveries printed on cotton paper |
dim ; 300 cm x 200 cm
