Nether : the baroque angel

Behind “ Nether ” we find Yolène . She lives in Nolay in Saône-et-Loire. She is an artist who mainly draws scenes related to religion and/or the heavens. In life, her passions are numerous: art, musical instruments (like the violin, theremin and piano), reading, museums, singing, cats and walking.
Meeting with an atypical artist.

OJL: Hello Nether .
Nether : Bonjour.

OJL: Four quick questions before getting to the heart of the matter.
As you live in Nolay, can you tell us what your favorite café is there? And what do you like to drink there?
Nether : I don’t have a specific café in mind to be honest. On the other hand, I love coffee and there was a time when I drank a lot of it… Around ten cups a day (laughs) ! Now it’s better, I only take two (smile).
Besides, I would love to drink coffees from different cultures like the Vietnamese coffee… Because I am Vietnamese (laughs). I think the coffee I’m having at the moment is from Colombia…

OJL: And what is your favorite park or place?
Nether : So I can answer both questions (laughs). My favorite park is “Le parc de La Colombière ” in Dijon. And my favorite place… These are the churches. It’s the second place I visit, every time when I discover a new city.

OJL: Next, what was the last book you read? And the last song you listened to?
Nether : _About the book : “ The Orchid House ” by Lucinda Riley.
_About the song : “ Roxanne ” by Police.

OJL: Finally, do you have a quote and/or proverb that you like?
Nether : The first phrase that comes to mind is: “Don’t do to others what you wouldn’t want done to you.” Something to think about for some people…

OJL: Let’s talk a little about you now. How could you introduce yourself?
Nether :My name is Yolene Viacroze aka “ Nether ”. I am receptive dysphasic , so I am recognized as a “disabled worker”. Since I was little I had to find a way to express myself in the drawing.
Being epileptic at the time (this is no longer the case today), the long times I spent in the hospital meant that the drawing and I, we became very good friends.
I have also traveled a lot in my life. And at 19, I returned to France to study in Marseille in MANAA (refresher course in plastic art then in the field of 3D computer graphics).
Now I am a Graphic Designer and I am improving my skills to study coding for websites and smartphone applications.
Because I want to be able to work from A to Z on a project.

OJL: Who are the professionals who shaped you? Who struck you down? In a few names and why.
Nether : I have a lot…
_ Cézanne because I had to study him during my art studies. I really like the way he paints. It’s simple and expressive at the same time.
_Van Gogh for his intenses colors. I have always admired his work since I was little.
_ William Bouguereau for the details of his characters, his drapes, his trees etc…
_And Gustave Doré for the subjects which he illustrates very well. But also its themes like hell and heaven. His way of using black and white which touches me… He was very interesting to study about hatching, lines, shapes and his way of expressing himself.

OJL: How did you choose your pseudonym?
Nether : I was looking for a name that would express my world well. At first I wanted a name in Latin (I don’t really know why). Then I made keywords and then by chance found the word: “ Nether ”. And no, this word is not related to MineCraft (laughs). And while looking for the translation of this English word, I found that it could be translated as: “bottom, nothingness, hell and lower”. And I did recognized myself there . This word expresses well what I do, what I love and what inspire me.
The fact that it is linked to the word “inferior” also speaks to me. Because because of my handicap, I was made to understand that I was “inferior”. From childhood until now. I have been treated like nothing. So I told myself that this word was the mine !
And when I have a bit of the blues or the blank page syndrome … Well I have the strange feeling that this word… Boosts me (smile) !

OJL: Let’s talk a little about your work now. What are you creating?
Nether : Mainly traditional hand drawn illustrations.
I also draw on the computer and on an Ipad but I really like the contact with the paper and the pencil.
My creations are dark. In chiaroscuro too…
Mainly monochrome. I sometimes tell myself that I have to make an effort and put a little more colors in my works… One day perhaps… I’m working on it…
I am influenced by:
_The baroque compositions of 19th century art.
_My dream visions.
_The history of art which intoxicates me.
_And through sacred, religious, occult and sometimes pagan art.
When I draw, I want it to speak to me first. But ESPECIALLY that others see their own story. Most of my creations come from my dreams. Or I have an idea in my head and then I dream of the finished illustration. And sometimes it’s simply photos that inspire me…

OJL: How can you define your style? Nether : I think he has a dark, mysterious and occult side. I feel a belief in something… Be it light or shadow.
People sometimes say that my style is Gothic. But I prefer to say that it is Baroque. Because it’s a style that I really like. Both for jewelry and objects.

OJL: You came across the right magazine. Incredible… And what techniques do you use? Nether : Various tools. But I mainly use graphite pencil, lead pencil and Charcoal .

OJL: Can we place you a personalized order? Nether : Yes of course, I would study the request and then make a quote with the person. It would be a pleasure for me.

OJL: Can we subscribe to your newsletter? Because social networks are a bit saturated… Nether : _ So on my site yes.
_And on the website of the store that I am creating: this will normally be the case too. It’s on the to-do list (laughs).

OJL: Do you have a story about creating one of your products? Or one of your sales?
Nether : Yes. I had just put one of my illustrations up for sale online. And I got the price wrong. I had priced it 10 times more than the price I wanted. And someone contacted me because they wanted to buy it at that price!
Otherwise I could say that I was quite insulted on social networks… I was told that I was a horrible person because my drawings are dark, sad and that I needed a little more of gentleness in this world…I say “Everyone has their own point of view”. Besides, there are artists much darker than me… It was especially the somewhat “sectarian” invectives that bothered me. In particular an individual who spoke to me about the devil etc… And bad luck for these people, because I like to talk about religions so I rather irritated this person. I also had a woman a long time ago who harassed me… She really brought me down to earth and took away all my artistic flame… Hence the fact that now I protect myself… Especially with the social networks … But paradoxically I am thinking more and more about creating a channel on YouTube (laughs).

OJL: Last question. You definitely have friends who are doing amazing things ! If you want to promote them a little, now is the time!
Nether : In the field of art, I have three favorites that I would like to highlight:
_ By the creature : illustrator and author: https://www.bythecreature.co.uk/
_ Voidfactory : musicians. I really like his music, very instrumental and steampunk . It has ambient sounds that inspire me and allow me to escape when I draw : http://spiky.fr/
_Slave to sin: musicians. I made a drawing for this artist. A very nice meeting (smile). Besides, I hope to work more with the musical world. This group is absolutely worth knowing : https://www.slavetosin.com/

OJL: Bravo for what you do. May Our Lady protects you.
Nether : Thank you.