From Island to Island, the Landscape that Disappears: Fabien Mérelle’s Solo Show in Hong Kong

Eric David

12 June 2024

From island to island, the landscape that disappears

17 May 2024 to 29 June 2024

Kiang Malingue gallery

Tue–Sat 12 p.m.–6 p.m.

10 Sik On Street

Hong Kong Island

Hong Kong S.A.R., China

+852 28100317

From island to island, the landscape that disappears

17 May 2024 to 29 June 2024

Kiang Malingue gallery

Tue–Sat 12 p.m.–6 p.m.

10 Sik On Street

Hong Kong Island

Hong Kong S.A.R., China

+852 28100317

Poignantly titled "From island to island, the landscape that disappears", French artist Fabien Mérelle’s solo show at Kiang Malingue art gallery in Hong Kong tacitly documents the gradually vanishing landscape of Oléron Island (Île d’Oléron) off the west coast of France due to global warming through drawings on paper, tuffeau stones, and ceramics. A truly global phenomenon, rising sea levels are affecting islands and coastal regions around the world, from Mérelle’s home country to Hong Kong on the other side of the globe.

Tiptoeing between a nightmare and a dream, the artist’s sparse depictions of Oléron’s receding shoreline, uprooted trees, and rocky formations can stand in for any other imperilled topography, while the presence of his avatar, a sleepwalking figure that the artist often incorporates in his drawings, further engages the viewers’ imagination, inviting them to decipher the cryptic, dream-like scenarios.

FabienMérelle, Love, 2024.

Ink and pencil on paper.

34 x 47.5 cm (unframed).

Image courtesy of the artist and KiangMalingue. Photo bySamson Wong Pak Hang.

Installation view,FabienMérelle“From island to island, the landscape that disappears”, KiangMalingue,SikOn Street, Hong Kong, 2024.Image courtesy of the artist and KiangMalingue. Photo bySamson Wong Pak Hang.

Installation view,FabienMérelle“From island to island, the landscape that disappears”, KiangMalingue,SikOn Street, Hong Kong, 2024.Image courtesy of the artist and KiangMalingue. Photo bySamson Wong Pak Hang.

FabienMérelle,In the riverbed of Loire, 2024.

Ink on ceramic.

11 x 10 cm.

Image courtesy of the artist and KiangMalingue. Photo bySamson Wong Pak Hang.

FabienMérelle, Vertical Tree, 2024. Ink on ceramic. 10 x 10 cm.

Image courtesy of the artist and KiangMalingue. Photo bySamson Wong Pak Hang.

Installation view,FabienMérelle “From island to island, the landscape that disappears”, KiangMalingue,SikOn Street, Hong Kong, 2024.Image courtesy of the artist and KiangMalingue. Photo bySamson Wong Pak Hang.

FabienMérelle,Lookout Tree, 2024. Ink and pencil on paper. 99 x 63 cm (Unframed). Image courtesy of the artist and KiangMalingue. Photo bySamson Wong Pak Hang.

FabienMérelle, Imprint, Fig Tree, 2024.

Ink and pencil on paper.

42 x 29 cm (unframed).

Image courtesy of the artist and KiangMalingue. Photo bySamson Wong Pak Hang.

Installation view,FabienMérelle“From island to island, the landscape that disappears”, KiangMalingue,SikOn Street, Hong Kong, 2024.Image courtesy of the artist and KiangMalingue. Photo bySamson Wong Pak Hang.

FabienMérelle, The Tide, 2024. Ink on wax coatedpaper. 19x 3.5 cm

Image courtesy of the artist and KiangMalingue. Photo bySamson Wong Pak Hang.

Fabien Mérelle, Cloud, 2024. Ink on wax coated paper. 6 x 10 cm.

Image courtesy of the artist and Kiang Malingue. Photo by Samson Wong Pak Hang.

Installation view, Fabien Mérelle “From island to island, the landscape that disappears”, Kiang Malingue, Sik On Street, Hong Kong, 2024. Image courtesy of the artist and Kiang Malingue. Photo by Samson Wong Pak Hang.

Mérelle began his ongoing series of ink and watercolour drawings portraying the landscape of Pointe de Gatseau on Oléron Island back in 2016. It wasn’t until a few years later however that he realised he was drawn to the landscape because it had been disappearing with drawings dating back to 2016 no longer representing the island’s now evidently eroding natural environment.

The artist’s deliberately sparse landscapes are precisely drawn and meticulously detailed, informed by traditional Chinese painting — a graduate from the Beaux - Arts academy in Paris, Mérelle later attended the Beaux - Arts academy in Xi’an. Set against a white backdrop, they aim to convey a sense of spiritual and physical freedom.

Fabien Mérelle, Bunker (detail), 2024. Ink and pencil on paper 29 x 42 cm. Image courtesy of the artist and Kiang Malingue.

Installation view, Fabien Mérelle “From island to island, the landscape that disappears”, Kiang Malingue, Sik On Street, Hong Kong, 2024. Image courtesy of the artist and Kiang Malingue. Photo by Samson Wong Pak Hang.

FabienMérelle, Mezzogiorno, 2024.

Ink and pencil on paper.

29 x 42 cm (unframed).

Image courtesy of the artist and KiangMalingue. Photo bySamson Wong Pak Hang.

Installation view,FabienMérelle“From island to island, the landscape that disappears”, KiangMalingue,SikOn Street, Hong Kong, 2024.Image courtesy of the artist and KiangMalingue. Photo bySamson Wong Pak Hang.

Installation view,FabienMérelle“From island to island, the landscape that disappears”, KiangMalingue,SikOn Street, Hong Kong, 2024.Image courtesy of the artist and KiangMalingue. Photo bySamson Wong Pak Hang.

Installation view, Fabien Mérelle “From island to island, the landscape that disappears”, Kiang Malingue, Sik On Street, Hong Kong, 2024. Image courtesy of the artist and Kiang Malingue. Photo by Samson Wong Pak Hang.

Installation view,FabienMérelle“From island to island, the landscape that disappears”, KiangMalingue,SikOn Street, Hong Kong, 2024.Image courtesy of the artist and KiangMalingue. Photo bySamson Wong Pak Hang.

Installation view,FabienMérelle“From island to island, the landscape that disappears”, KiangMalingue,SikOn Street, Hong Kong, 2024.Image courtesy of the artist and KiangMalingue. Photo bySamson Wong Pak Hang.

FabienMérelle, Encadré, 2024.

Ink and pencil on paper.

29 x 42 cm (unframed).

Image courtesy of the artist and KiangMalingue.

FabienMérelle, Until the end, 2024.

Ink and pencil on paper.

29.5 x 12cm (unframed).

Image courtesy of the artist and KiangMalingue.

FabienMérelle, Barricade, 2024. Ink and pencil on paper. 29 x 42 cm (unframed). Image courtesy of the artist and KiangMalingue.

Standing, crouching, or lying among the trees, rocks, and bunkers is Mérelle’s avatar, a pyjama-wearing man whose scale varies from life-size to thumb-sized who bears witness to the island’s disappearing landscape and represents a desire to "be one with nature without disturbing it."

Occasionally interacting with man-made structures along the shores, the dream-like scenes capture the solo performances the artist carried out on Oléron Island over the years: climbing a tree for a better view (Lookout Tree, 2024); embracing a tree trunk in an act of solidarity (Until the End, 2024); dancing, following the movement of branches half-drowned in water (Dance, 2024); lying on the remains of a Second World War bunker (Bunker, 2024), or standing straight in a hut (Framed, 2024).

Installation view, Fabien Mérelle “From island to island, the landscape that disappears”, Kiang Malingue, Sik On Street, Hong Kong, 2024. Image courtesy of the artist and Kiang Malingue. Photo by Samson Wong Pak Hang.

FabienMérelle, Bunker, 2024.

Ink and pencil on paper.

29 x 42 cm (unframed).

Image courtesy of the artist and KiangMalingue. Photo bySamson Wong Pak Hang.

FabienMérelle, Imprint, Fern, 2024.

Ink and pencil on paper.

29 x 42 cm (unframed).

Image courtesy of the artist and KiangMalingue. Photo bySamson Wong Pak Hang.

FabienMérelle, Dance, 2024. Ink and pencil on paper. 29 x 42 cm (unframed). Image courtesy of the artist and KiangMalingue.Photo bySamson Wong Pak Hang.

Installation view,FabienMérelle“From island to island, the landscape that disappears”, KiangMalingue,SikOn Street, Hong Kong, 2024.Image courtesy of the artist and KiangMalingue. Photo bySamson Wong Pak Hang.

Installation view, FabienMérelle “From island to island, the landscape that disappears”, KiangMalingue, SikOn Street, Hong Kong, 2024. Image courtesy of the artist and KiangMalingue. Photo bySamson Wong Pak Hang.

FabienMérelle, Murmuration, 2024.

Ink and pencil on paper.

29 x 42 cm (unframed).

Image courtesy of the artist and KiangMalingue. Photo bySamson Wong Pak Hang.

Fabien Mérelle, Forest, 2024. Ink and pencil on paper. 29 x 42 cm (unframed). Image courtesy of the artist and Kiang Malingue. Photo by Samson Wong Pak Hang.

Complementing Mérelle’s drawings on paper are a dozen ink-and-alcohol drawings drawn onto both tuffeau stones (a type of limestone found in the Loire Valley) and ceramics. Strewn across the gallery floor or resting against the walls, their fragmentary quality represents the artist’s interest in exploring habitats through an archaeologist’s lens and in creating art in situ, while the juxtaposition between their rubble-like sensibility and detailed figurations reflects on the transitory nature of civilisation.

Just like the artist’s works on paper, the minute scale of these drawings, some of which are just a few centimetres wide, prompts viewers to closely examine his figures.

Peering deeply into Mérelle’s drawings, a sense of initial familiarity, after closer inspection, takes on an eerie dimension that manages to tap into one’s innermost thoughts, dreams, and fears. The result? An overwhelming impression that this is an exhibition that not only visually creates connections between islands and lands, but also between the artist and the viewer’s subconscious on a much deeper level.

Installation view,FabienMérelle“From island to island, the landscape that disappears”, KiangMalingue,SikOn Street, Hong Kong, 2024.Image courtesy of the artist and KiangMalingue. Photo bySamson Wong Pak Hang.

Installation view,FabienMérelle“From island to island, the landscape that disappears”, KiangMalingue,SikOn Street, Hong Kong, 2024.Image courtesy of the artist and KiangMalingue. Photo bySamson Wong Pak Hang.

Installation view,FabienMérelle“From island to island, the landscape that disappears”, KiangMalingue,SikOn Street, Hong Kong, 2024.Image courtesy of the artist and KiangMalingue. Photo bySamson Wong Pak Hang.

Installation view,FabienMérelle“From island to island, the landscape that disappears”, KiangMalingue,SikOn Street, Hong Kong, 2024.Image courtesy of the artist and KiangMalingue. Photo bySamson Wong Pak Hang.

FabienMérelle, Bunker Zone, 2024. Ink on rock. W13 x L9 x H19 cm. Image courtesy of the artist and KiangMalingue. Photo bySamson Wong Pak Hang.

Installation view,FabienMérelle“From island to island, the landscape that disappears”, KiangMalingue,SikOn Street, Hong Kong, 2024.Image courtesy of the artist and KiangMalingue. Photo bySamson Wong Pak Hang.

Installation view,FabienMérelle“From island to island, the landscape that disappears”, KiangMalingue,SikOn Street, Hong Kong, 2024.Image courtesy of the artist and KiangMalingue. Photo bySamson Wong Pak Hang.

Installation view, Fabien Mérelle “From island to island, the landscape that disappears”, Kiang Malingue, Sik On Street, Hong Kong, 2024. Image courtesy of the artist and Kiang Malingue. Photo by Samson Wong Pak Hang.

FabienMérelle, Miming the tree, 2024. Ink on rock. W60x L34x H28cm. Image courtesy of the artist and KiangMalingue. Photo bySamson Wong Pak Hang.

FabienMérelle, Island, 2024. Ink and pencil on paper. 29 x 42 cm (unframed). Image courtesy of the artist and KiangMalingue. Photo bySamson Wong Pak Hang.

From Island to Island, the Landscape that Disappears: Fabien Mérelle’s Solo Show in Hong Kong