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Jenny Ouellet
2024 - Bleu Overflow Series
The paintings in this series depict rising waters—a dialogue intended to highlight the dangers we face and the urgent need to act.
Silent Cry
Acrylic on canvas, 66'' x 51''
A drowned human figure floats between two waters, suspended above submerged houses. Circular shapes resembling air bubbles rise toward the surface. The water is abstractly represented by long vertical rectangular bands, creating a sense of depth and density. A large flock of birds soars above this submerged scene. Dominated by deep blue-green tones, the canvas exudes an atmosphere that is both dramatic and serene, where silence prevails despite the underlying violence.
A drowned human figure floats between two waters, suspended above submerged houses. Circular shapes resembling air bubbles rise toward the surface. The water is abstractly represented by long vertical rectangular bands, creating a sense of depth and density. A large flock of birds soars above this submerged scene. Dominated by deep blue-green tones, the canvas exudes an atmosphere that is both dramatic and serene, where silence prevails despite the underlying violence.
Last Breath,
Acrylic on Canvas, 42'' X 57''
Created as a continuation of Silent Cry, this painting places greater emphasis on the human figure, now at the heart of the composition.
The drowned body appears suspended in a final moment, its unstable position reflecting the violence of collapse. The submerged houses emerge in transparency, pushed to the background—deep and distant. The abstract treatment, composed of shifting and fragmented forms, conveys a rapidly changing and threatening climate.
Water, ever present, becomes here the vehicle of imbalance—of an inexorable fall. Last Breath evokes the imminent end of a human breath, carried away by the world’s unraveling.
Created as a continuation of Silent Cry, this painting places greater emphasis on the human figure, now at the heart of the composition.
The drowned body appears suspended in a final moment, its unstable position reflecting the violence of collapse. The submerged houses emerge in transparency, pushed to the background—deep and distant. The abstract treatment, composed of shifting and fragmented forms, conveys a rapidly changing and threatening climate.
Water, ever present, becomes here the vehicle of imbalance—of an inexorable fall. Last Breath evokes the imminent end of a human breath, carried away by the world’s unraveling.
Underwater
This work immerses the viewer in a submerged world.
A swimmer moves beneath an orange sky where etched buildings evoke a sunken city. In the depths, translucent houses float, erased by the water. Air bubbles rise to the surface, revealing a fragile breath. The current—abstractly rendered through color variations and masking—amplifies the sense of a world in motion, where loss and survival coexist.
A swimmer moves beneath an orange sky where etched buildings evoke a sunken city. In the depths, translucent houses float, erased by the water. Air bubbles rise to the surface, revealing a fragile breath. The current—abstractly rendered through color variations and masking—amplifies the sense of a world in motion, where loss and survival coexist.
Fractal Mirror
Acrylic on canvas, 49'' X 67''
This work evokes, for me, the idea of a nature made up of repetitive and interconnected patterns, where each element reflects and depends on the others within an infinite structure. It echoes the way ecosystems form and replicate at every scale — from the microscopic to the macroscopic — creating a complex and harmonious network.
It also suggests that every human action has broader implications than it may seem, like a ripple spreading through a fractal mirror: an ecological balance shaped by effects that are sometimes subtle, often unpredictable.
The poetic title refers to this idea of fragile interdependence, where each part reflects the whole, like an infinite sequence of resonating mirrors. This reflection also echoes the one expressed in Assises englouties
This work evokes, for me, the idea of a nature made up of repetitive and interconnected patterns, where each element reflects and depends on the others within an infinite structure. It echoes the way ecosystems form and replicate at every scale — from the microscopic to the macroscopic — creating a complex and harmonious network.
It also suggests that every human action has broader implications than it may seem, like a ripple spreading through a fractal mirror: an ecological balance shaped by effects that are sometimes subtle, often unpredictable.
The poetic title refers to this idea of fragile interdependence, where each part reflects the whole, like an infinite sequence of resonating mirrors. This reflection also echoes the one expressed in Assises englouties
Marine Ballet
Acrylic on canvas, 57'' X 60''
A human body, drowned, its head turned toward the depths, appears to be carried in a slow descent.
Through the aquatic blur, the streets of a city and submerged houses emerge, engulfed beneath the shifting abstraction of water. The water is rendered through fluid, vibrant forms that give the scene a sense of drifting. A light from the sky pierces the aquatic layers down to the abyss.
Dominated by blue-green tones, the canvas is crossed with pink reflections in the water, while a vivid orange sky illuminates the scene. A flock of birds hovers above, suggesting a presence of hope despite the depth of the tragedy.
A human body, drowned, its head turned toward the depths, appears to be carried in a slow descent.
Through the aquatic blur, the streets of a city and submerged houses emerge, engulfed beneath the shifting abstraction of water. The water is rendered through fluid, vibrant forms that give the scene a sense of drifting. A light from the sky pierces the aquatic layers down to the abyss.
Dominated by blue-green tones, the canvas is crossed with pink reflections in the water, while a vivid orange sky illuminates the scene. A flock of birds hovers above, suggesting a presence of hope despite the depth of the tragedy.
Translucent Resilience
Acrylic on canvas, 58'' X 40''
A translucent giant walks underwater, embodying human power in the face of the disasters it creates. Its submerged head, filled with red birds, symbolizes hope but also the weight of consequences. The submerged houses recall the destruction caused by our actions. The visible circles—perhaps air bubbles—suggest the fragility of our world, made delicate by our choices. This painting questions our collective responsibility and the impact of our actions on the environment.
A translucent giant walks underwater, embodying human power in the face of the disasters it creates. Its submerged head, filled with red birds, symbolizes hope but also the weight of consequences. The submerged houses recall the destruction caused by our actions. The visible circles—perhaps air bubbles—suggest the fragility of our world, made delicate by our choices. This painting questions our collective responsibility and the impact of our actions on the environment.
Whirlpool
acrylic on canvas, 24'' X 36''
This painting evokes the destructive power of water. A yellow ribbon, created with masking techniques, represents a whirlpool sweeping away submerged houses. Red birds, etched into the blue sky, bear witness to the tragedy. Between chaos and movement, the work illustrates human helplessness in the face of the elements and the persistence of memory amid the storm.
This painting evokes the destructive power of water. A yellow ribbon, created with masking techniques, represents a whirlpool sweeping away submerged houses. Red birds, etched into the blue sky, bear witness to the tragedy. Between chaos and movement, the work illustrates human helplessness in the face of the elements and the persistence of memory amid the storm.
Sunken Grounds
Acrylic on canvas, 68'' X 42''
A precursor to the Blue Overflow series, Sunken Grounds naturally found its place within the body of work.
It depicts a white, almost ghostly figure seated at the water’s edge, frozen in a posture of reflection before the improbable made real: submerged land, engulfed homes.
Around this still character, interconnected spheres float on the surface—abstract forms evoking water molecules, the source of all life, but also agents of upheaval. Here, water is not solely a destructive force: it becomes a medium for transformation, renewal, and questioning.
Abstraction dominates the composition, suggesting the complexity of a world in need of rebuilding. The fragility of our structures—both material and symbolic—imposes itself.
This painting carries a fundamental question: how can we rethink our way of inhabiting the Earth in order to survive what we ourselves have set in motion?
A precursor to the Blue Overflow series, Sunken Grounds naturally found its place within the body of work.
It depicts a white, almost ghostly figure seated at the water’s edge, frozen in a posture of reflection before the improbable made real: submerged land, engulfed homes.
Around this still character, interconnected spheres float on the surface—abstract forms evoking water molecules, the source of all life, but also agents of upheaval. Here, water is not solely a destructive force: it becomes a medium for transformation, renewal, and questioning.
Abstraction dominates the composition, suggesting the complexity of a world in need of rebuilding. The fragility of our structures—both material and symbolic—imposes itself.
This painting carries a fundamental question: how can we rethink our way of inhabiting the Earth in order to survive what we ourselves have set in motion?
Flood
Acrylic on Canvas, 62'' x 42''
The painting Flood was born from a deep need to express my powerlessness in the face of natural disasters, which are now in our own backyards. My car, my house, my neighbor, my brother—all submerged underwater. I paint to breathe, to reason with myself, to find calm. I paint to soften the tragedy and make it human.
Victor Hugo, in Les Misérables, describes the flooding of Paris as something sublime, illustrating the erasure of man before the forces of nature.
Unlike this great poet, who depicted the unfolding drama, in this work, I sought to portray the calm that follows the horror.
In this painting, titled Flood, figuration is reduced to its minimal expression, giving way to an abstract blend of saturated blue, orange, and gold interwoven with a grid pattern reminiscent of a village map seen from above.
Turquoise blue flows across the canvas in a liquid mass, submerging the houses in a monochrome blue—rendering them unstable, erasable, barely distinguishable from the overwhelming waters.
Organic shapes, resembling deep dark blue and foamy white air bubbles engraved with geometric and floral motifs, trace swirling currents, evoking the aftermath of a devastating energy.
The composition creates a tension between figuration and geometric abstraction, illustrating the fragility of our structures in the face of the overwhelming power of the elements.
The painting Flood was born from a deep need to express my powerlessness in the face of natural disasters, which are now in our own backyards. My car, my house, my neighbor, my brother—all submerged underwater. I paint to breathe, to reason with myself, to find calm. I paint to soften the tragedy and make it human.
Victor Hugo, in Les Misérables, describes the flooding of Paris as something sublime, illustrating the erasure of man before the forces of nature.
Unlike this great poet, who depicted the unfolding drama, in this work, I sought to portray the calm that follows the horror.
In this painting, titled Flood, figuration is reduced to its minimal expression, giving way to an abstract blend of saturated blue, orange, and gold interwoven with a grid pattern reminiscent of a village map seen from above.
Turquoise blue flows across the canvas in a liquid mass, submerging the houses in a monochrome blue—rendering them unstable, erasable, barely distinguishable from the overwhelming waters.
Organic shapes, resembling deep dark blue and foamy white air bubbles engraved with geometric and floral motifs, trace swirling currents, evoking the aftermath of a devastating energy.
The composition creates a tension between figuration and geometric abstraction, illustrating the fragility of our structures in the face of the overwhelming power of the elements.
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