Grandpa Leon, Portrait Awards 2023

This portrait is a portrait of one of my great-grandfather. This is a photo-painting made from a family photo and a painting I did on the iPad. The image is chipped, just like him. On the right, it looks like an apparition or an evil double with a pointed hat. The mountains evoke his changing mood. I painted him a kind of aura to try to alleviate his suffering. Leon lost his beloved first wife and two of his children in successive deliveries. He remarried much later with my great-grandmother. I wanted to pay homage to him. This portrait takes part of the scalable series In the enchanted family, I ask... who is an introspective attempt to rewrite, reinterpret and reclaim my personal story and these of my family. With this work, I have the impression of forging links with my ancestors, of getting to know them but also of building up me a stock of protective and restorative amulets.