MANILA, Philippines — Actress and artist Solenn Heussaff has opened her latest solo exhibition, Into the Unseen Garden, at Provenance Art Gallery in Makati, dedicating one of its featured works to her father, Louis Paul Heussaff, who is living with dementia.
The exhibition, which runs from July 2 to Aug. 30, marks Heussaff’s first solo collection in two years and explores themes of growth, change and transformation through abstract paintings inspired by nature.
Speaking to INQUIRER Entertainment, Heussaff said the collection reflects her view that nature serves as both a subject and a metaphor for personal growth.
“I wanted this one to be nature and landscape, but used as a language. It’s used as a metaphor and it’s also the subject,” she said. “It’s about the landscape of growth and how we always change and how we always evolve as people.”
One of the collection’s centerpiece paintings, Where the Hortensias Sing, pays tribute to her 79-year-old father, a former French Navy sailor who now lives in the Philippines with her mother. Heussaff said she created the work after her father developed dementia, which has affected his memory.
“My father has dementia now, so he doesn’t recognize me and my siblings,” she said. “His favorite flower has always been the hortensia. I wanted this to be a tribute to him.”
Heussaff said the painting reflects her acceptance of the changes brought by her father’s illness.
“Life is always moving and you just need to accept the things that happen,” she said. “I’m also getting to know a new person. My dad is softer and calmer.”
The exhibition follows Vīta, her 2024 joint exhibition with French-Filipina artist Olivia d’Aboville.
Heussaff said she has painted since childhood and began exhibiting professionally in 2016. She added that she has devoted more time to painting after reducing her television commitments.
She cited her family as an early influence, saying her mother’s relatives from Paete, Laguna, are sculptors, while several members of her father’s family paint as a hobby.
Heussaff said she draws much of her inspiration from nature, particularly the garden surrounding her home.
“Every morning I have my coffee, I just look at the garden, I look at the birds and notice things,” she said. “When I’m inspired, I go in front of the canvas and start painting. It’s never planned.”
She also named Swedish artist Hilma af Klint as one of her artistic influences, describing her as a forward thinker whose work continues to inspire her.
Heussaff said painting allows her to express herself differently from acting because it gives viewers the freedom to interpret her work without explanation.
“I’m able to be myself the most,” she said. “I’m not needing to explain why I do certain things or the way I do them, and I allow people to have their own interpretation.”
Into the Unseen Garden is on display at Provenance Art Gallery in Rockwell, Makati, until Aug. 30.
