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French artist Jean Jullien has always kept diaries and sketchbooks.
Over the years, they capture, as he describes, time passing graphically.
The exhibition itself was programmed by his brother, Nicolas, who also composed its accompanying music.
(It might make you wish you, too, were quarantining in Brittany!)
So we thought this diary, bookish narrative would be appropriate for the content.
A lot of the paintings are based on photos, souvenirs, and this desire to get out.
Tell me about your life right now.Yeah.
I live in Paris with my wife and two young children.
We were there when the order came through to lockdown, so we stayed there.
Weve been here for more than a month now.
Im with my family, so its all good.
Were the privileged ones.
Im really cherishing the time with my kids.
But its nice and lively.
There is a lot of nature around me.
I can actually take the time to see spring come, which is really nice.
Like the painting of your neighbors fig tree.Its in my parents kitchen.
It felt like I could really see it as I was painting it.
I dont know if thats quite normal, that the figs are already out in early May.
Things tend to be not very normal at the moment.
In the show, you write that your sketchbooks reveal time passing graphically.The passing of time is striking.
My youngest son is learning to crawl and grab objects.
Theres all this time.
Its a bit strange and nice and quite poetic.
He plays music, as well as doing animation and programming, and Im drawing.
Its a very complementary relationship in a way.
Im really happy with what he came up with.
The music is not quite melancholy but reflective.Thats a nice way to put it.
The music doesnt communicate a sense of rush.
For me, I wanted to create something cozy, and for me music is cozy.
Its a cozy, intimate rhythm.
Home Slice is a prequel to your forthcoming show, Slices, this fall.
What will that exhibition look like?Its more based on observation and travel.
It meant a lot to me, so a lot of the paintings are based on that afternoon.
Theres also a few paintings about going around museums in Paris.
Some moments observed in restaurants and the subway in New York.
Some streets of Brooklyn Heights.
Those moments sound so fantastical right now.Yeah, that is true.
Its a difficult situation for a lot of people.
I consider myself lucky, since a lot of people are not in that situation.
We dont want to think our world revolves around those four walls.
Its a means to take a stab at collectively travel to other places, fantastical places.
