Oriane SOSSAH (b. 1987) - Lot 63

Oriane SOSSAH (b. 1987) Ma République pleure, 2017 Gouache on canvas Signed and dated lower right, countersigned, titled and dated on the back 100 x 73 cm Oriane Sossah is a Parisian artist who has won the Prix des Beaux-Arts 2023 and the Dîners des Arts et de la Culture (Prix Jeune Talent 2022, and Prix spécial du jury 2024). Her work explores the links between emotion, memory and light through engaged contemporary painting. Spring Colors Paris 2022 - Marché Paul-Bert 2024 Painted in 2017, this work expresses deep concern about the state of the Republic and the democratic drifts that threaten it. In a tense political context, marked by the rise of nationalism and the slide of republican values, the canvas embodies a form of collective sorrow. The painted figure - both symbol and conscience - evokes a wounded Republic, almost silent in the face of the world's upheaval. It is a calm cry, a suspended emotion in the face of the loss of landmarks, a call to vigilance and civic responsibility. But in her grief, she remains on her feet, able to repel the onslaught, strong in a memory and a breath that endure crises. The work remains topical: it questions our relationship with freedoms, shared humanity and solidarity. I chose to offer this work to the auction organized in aid of Greenpeace, because it also embodies my faith in collective action, citizen mobilization and the decisive role of civil society in changing the world.