Lou Puybareau
Originally from Poitiers and now based near Toulouse, French artist Lou Puybareau (aka Alcali) has let image-making guide her path for as long as she can remember. A turning point occurred at age 14 when she acquired her first film camera, a Chinon CM-4, sparking a lifelong fascination with double exposures and color distortion. At 18, she left formal schooling to teach herself tattooing, building a prominent dark illustrative reputation while traveling Europe with a nomadic backpack workshop before grounding her roots in chemical printmaking.
In her current workshop, Lou bridges her graphic tattoo background with experimental photography, spending the last four years mastering the light-sensitive chemistry of cyanotypes and solarfast printing. Her process is a cycle of destruction and reassembly; she breaks down her drawings, paintings, and macro photographs, decomposing and rebuilding them into intricate, hand-pressed works. This tactile methodology translates raw organic details and rigid lines into contrasted, fluid graphic unities.
Moving past earlier themes of alternative spaces and avian anatomy, Lou’s current research targets the visceral textures found within organic matter and geometric architecture. "I am looking for emotion and duality through my photographies," she notes, seeking the tension released by ambivalent images. Her compositions create a striking dialogue between the man-made and the terrestrial, capturing an organized chaos where the viewer is invited to find a delicate balance.