Pixels

The Pixel works are designed to be viewed from a distance first. From afar, the image appears recognizable, almost like a regular portrait. When the viewer comes closer, it reveals itself for what it is: a construction made of many small squares, each coloured by hand.

I was interested in using the language of pixel art not as a simple visual effect, but as a way to show how little the mind needs in order to recognize a face. The brain does not need every detail to understand who it is looking at. It completes the available information and turns a few essential elements into a recognizable figure.

This is why I chose very well-known subjects, figures that have entered the shared imagination. The mechanism works more strongly when the face already belongs to collective memory.

To create these portraits, I start from a digital image reduced to its essential elements. I then draw a grid on the paper and reconstruct each square with coloured pencils, trying to translate the chromatic variety of the screen with a limited number of colours.

In this series, I like to play with the viewer’s perception, inviting them to move closer to and farther away from the work. From a distance, the face seems complete. Up close, it becomes clear that part of the image is not on the paper, but in the mind of the person looking at it.