Sting of Time

We all carry the fear of running out of time, transient moments, the end of something we love. But this limited time is also what makes life sublime. Diagnosed with a chronic illness, Vialle lives with this fear in her daily reality. Her condition is the place from which Sting of Time is born. Spending time in selected landscapes in the Netherlands and Belgium, she encapsulates fleeting moments by photographing the landscape. For her, these landscapes echo sentiments of the sublime yet melancholic.

Her methodology for this work emulates life cycles of nature, where decay is a platform for sprouting growth. Alongside photographing, she spends time collecting materials from the landscapes, which she later incorporates into paper. Transferring the essence of the space, the images are screen printed onto her handmade paper. The innate feelings experienced in a specific place become tangible, surpassing time, with the ability to be experienced forever. Vialle says: “The dead trees in these images provide the humus layer for the future growth plants and animals and makes them incredibly meaningful for the landscape. In these spaces wonder and fear live side by side. Just as nature is given a second life, what seems to be bleak at first actually has an ultimately hopeful message. In our society, pain and loneliness can be made visible, and even be addressed.”