Expression through sculpture is a refuge of creation in which the artist devotes all her time. The artist’s fascination lies above all in the texture of the materials used, which evoke archaeological excavations, the discovery of the treasures of primitive art and sometimes pre-Columbian civilizations. Primitive art is controversial insofar as it translates an evolutionary and ethnocentric conception of human societies: Western societies being for “accomplished art” opposing “primitive art” which remained close to nature and animist spirit. If this vision is largely challenged today, the expressions remain. Lynda Ritchie’s sculpture refers to a millennial cultural tradition, the entire production of which is part of the heart of reinvented Mesoamerican space, reconstructed with the artist’s imagination.
Her technique is unique and consists in digging a mold in the sand which she fills with plaster and / or concrete which freezes while keeping the sculpted form. Behind this rough and worn material that penetrates objects is drawn a strange and silent story buried in the collective memory of the world, frozen in time. Her exploration immerses us in the mysterious atmosphere of ancient civilizations. Her characters invite art lovers to reflect on their origins, on the past, on history. The sculpture in this particular form makes the final work timeless; it will stand the test of time, like those old civilizations that have left behind monumental sculptures, without aging and without going out of fashion. Lynda Ritchie leaves traces of a bygone past in the present so that the future will witness what will have been.
Her approach is relevant and the result of in-depth research with various mediums that blend together. Today, she continues her artistic journey with, in particular, the exploitation of old recovered doors which carry their own history. She makes wooden screens with the judicious integration of sculptures while giving them a calculated consistency based on balance in the composition. She also creates objects, halfway between painting and sculpture.
