Belgian artist’s colourful take on majestic whales

BY EIMEAR O’DWYER

A STORY of whales, wolves, and other characters is woven through the work of Glandore-based artist Nathalie Vessié at her new exhibition, A Whale of a Time.  

The exhibition will officially open at 7pm on July 20th at the Cnoc Buí Arts Centre in Union Hall and will run from 1pm until 6pm every day from July 21st to 30th. 

Nathalie draws much of her inspiration from the countryside and ocean surrounding her home in West Cork. Nathalie’s creations are conveyed through many artistic mediums, including paintings, papier-maché sculptures and illustrations. 

Her husband Bryan can claim some of the credit for her latest exhibition. It was Bryan who gave Nathalie a photograph by Eoghan Kavanagh which inspired her to incorporate whales into her paintings. 

Eoghan’s photo of Allihies village, overshadowed by a looming, dark cloud, helped Nathalie visualise the mind of a whale. In her latest works she even recreates the photo, replacing the cloud with a whale. 

Under Nathalie’s brush, the mammal is transformed into a sheep, a pigeon, a jellyfish and a beetle. The whale even morphs into the Poulgorm bridge in Union Hall. 

The artist invites viewers to open their minds to the possibility of ‘Riding a Dragon Whale’ or ‘Walking a Whale on a Crisp Morning’.

The artist, who is originally from Belgium, lived in Kenmare for more than three years before moving to Glandore in 2021, where she now lives with Bryan and their two cats, Seccotine and Moinette and two dogs, Poppy and Gaston. 

Many of Nathalie’s artistic creations have been exhibited in galleries and at cultural events throughout Belgium. 

In addition to creating visual art, Nathalie is also immersed in the literary world. Her first book, The Casting of Leonardo, was exhibited in the Louvre museum in Paris, in 2020, to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Leonardo da Vinci’s death.