Heidi Taillefer has always been drawn to the bizarre and unusual, while maintaining a wide variety of interests, from the ridiculous and the absurd to the sacred and sublime, and all throughout these interests have encompassed ideological concerns about the environment and the impact of technology on society. In the late-80’s she began depicting mechanized subjects placed in natural settings, which acted as a nostalgic embrace of the past as seen through the lens of a culture racing forward at high speed, fitted with massive technological advancement.
Her paintings are meant to denounce or celebrate technology and the changes it either promises or threatens, as a projection of what we are becoming with both the appeal of the familiar and the jolt of where we are headed. By using “automatic” mechanical motifs instead of today’s current digital trend, the principle of technology is more easily maintained against increasing miniaturization and the invisibility of electronics, remaining anchored firmly within our field of perception.
