Pauline Bazignan

Using the tools of painting, Pauline Bazignan explores humanity’s pressing need to move beyond the limitations imposed by perspective. The Renaissance introduced a world that could be measured, surveyed, and controlled, positioning humankind as its master. With the invention of maps and mechanical clocks, people began to quantify both space and time—but always with an eye toward possession and exploitation. Bazignan engages with this historical framework to reflect on the Anthropocene, the era in which human activity profoundly shapes and often degrades the natural environment. Her work examines how the principles of Renaissance perspective illuminate contemporary challenges, showing how the impulse to dominate the world has led to ecological imbalance. Central to her practice is water, which she describes as the genesis of her paintings. Though colorless, it carries pigment, tracing forms, marks, and flowing lines across her compositions. Water animates her canvases as it animates life itself, becoming both medium and metaphor. In Bazignan’s vision, water signals the possibility of renewal—a foundational element for a world in which humanity may finally occupy its place in balance with nature. ...