Raymond Waydelich - Etching/Aquatint, Title, Alsatiae: Grand dragon

Raymond Emile Waydelich, born in Strasbourg in 1938, took his first steps in the art world in his father's studio, where he trained as a woodcarver. From 1953, Waydelich took classes at the École des Arts Décoratifs in his hometown and later at the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. In the early 1960s, he served as an army photographer in Algeria. During this period, he produced his first photo reportages of archaeological excavations and gradually began to integrate archaeology into his artistic work. More travels followed, including to Tunisia, Morocco, Greece, and Turkey. All these impressions and experiences play an essential role in his artistic practice. Ultimately, however, his home region of Alsace remained Raymond Waydelich's greatest love and still regularly serves as a backdrop for his works. In his art, Waydelich brings together past, present, and future. A significant milestone in his career was the Crypt of the Future action in 1995, which is part of his broader project Archaeology of the Future. Also central to Waydelich’s work is the figure of the seamstress Lydia Jacob, born in 1876, whose diary the artist discovered by chance at a flea market in 1973. From that moment on, Raymond Waydelich decided to bring Lydia Jacob back to life by making her the protagonist of his imaginative visual narratives. In an impressively diverse range of media, various spatial and temporal layers intersect. These worlds are populated and brought to life by bizarre, sometimes talking animals, creatures from classical mythology, historical figures, and icons from popular culture.