Suzanne Bessette

Compared To Water
Rogue Art Gallery, Victoria 1995
and Two Rivers Gallery, Prince George 1997

“The weakest things in the world can overmatch
the strongest things in the world.
Nothing in the world can be compared to water
for its weak and yielding nature; yet in
Attacking the hard and the strong nothing
proves better than it.
The weak can overcome the strong and the
yielding can overcome the hard.
This all the world knows but does not practice”

Tao Te Ching – Lao Tzu

Compared to Water, represents an ongoing exploration of sensation, emotion and the relationship of the image/object to the strong but yielding nature of water.

The earlier work in this series reflects iconic images of boat forms and fallen leaves that are, “compared to water”. Water becomes a metaphor for strength in the paintings as it runs through, surrounds and separates the images.

A poetic reference from the Tibetan Book of the Dead, inspired me to explore the fallen leaf as a symbol of “hope and fear”.  I worked on incorporating the leaf image with the water metaphor. I began to collect leaves in the fall of ’95 and coincidentally selected the maple leaf as one of my subjects. Ironically the production of the work took place during the Quebec Referendum and while the paintings were not intended to be political commentary, I was obviously influenced by the national “hope and fear” regarding separation and change.

Water continues to intrigue me as a metaphor and a medium that supports and inspires my creative efforts.