Equilibrium

The concept of Balance carries within it both the idea of stability, being firmly planted on our two feet on the ground, and the idea of being on the edge of the world, unstable, precarious, on one foot, thus. We speak of precarious balance, a true mise en abîme of this common word. It's no wonder that so many artists depict this stable/unstable point, feeling both grounded and on the edge of the cliff, showing a solid grip on the earth or holding onto a suspended wire. Balance is alignment as much as resistance, it's also a tipping point, an announced fall. It means leaning, exposing oneself, putting oneself in danger; this aptly describes the artist's profession, or rather the approach that progresses through attempts, which is always on a razor's edge, never certain whether the work will succeed, not even whether the work is finished. Balance belongs to sports, to the diver on the edge of the diving board, to the yogi who rigorously aligns his arms and legs while appearing totally contorted; balance must be invented in the weightlessness of space, where it can express the divine, the world held by a single subtle end without falling. In any case, balance is a sign of rigorous discipline, of combined intellectual and physical effort, and the artist's workshop is the springboard where the work is conceived before diving into the water, into the world, by exhibiting it.