GUEST ROOMS / DIVINATION CARDS by EMELINE DEPAS

i found you

yes, you did
i'll have to move rooms if you wanna chat, talk et cetera

eh just chat

[sleeping babies around]
when would you like to do it?

this week?

to utter responses?

just easy chat

i'm seding you the drawings and we chat

could be now, even, if you want
you caught me at a good time

okay

cool

i'm sending the drawing

click: awaiting instruction
where shall I start?

as you feel

i didn't give them name yet

i like order, maybe 1?

yes, good

tarot 1
[these are intense]

okay good hope you feel it

i need a little more guidance
you want my gut feelings, what cards i relate them to, what i 'see', ... ?

all of that

heh, all

it's more about symbolic reading

is it difficult?

yes

oh

why?

every tarot has a different symbolic web
every person has a variant twist
it's a precise science
what 'blocks' me is the intent of the hand. it is holding something, but also putting pressure thru the nail to a point
it seems to be leaving a trace

corn

corn?

inside the hand

hmmm...
cornstalks appear here & there in the tarot, often as a sign of material processes
creativity of earth. i guess the hand might be directing those processes
[you tell me when to slide into the next key/card/img]

perfect

i have no interpretation of the rings
does the hand symbolise the strength?
a certain strength, sure. but it's unknown to me whether that strength is 'put on' or 'actually there'... i.e. 'a show of strength' or 'a strength that is there but need not show itself'
it might, now that you've pointed me there, relate to the image of the card VII (or XI depending on your tarot deck)
strength/power/force classically depicted as a women holding a lion's mouth
the 'spots' on the skin, might be interpreted as sweat, further corroborating the idea of force (puissance)
[is this the kind of language-ing that you were intending?]
also it s not exactly cornstalk but weath

yes it's perfect

like a free talk

is it okay for you?

yeah, feels comfy

i’m glad

every tarot card could be spoken about for hours tho, hah
yes it's very complex
exactly
okay

tarot 2
that sun doesn't look happy, & the warrior/soldier is kneeling tho holding their weapon...
so there's something in the direction of surrender
but not the kind of ecstatic (georges bataille like) surrender that become erotic (or madonna-like)

there's something erotic in almost all of them

yeah, it's still erotic even though not total xtc
i wonder if 'the sword' stands for a musical instrument
because it resembles a recorder
a flute

exactly

but not held in a way that it is being played

interesting

just held

i get the feeling of 'giving up' / 'defeat'

as a kind of sword

or a kind of stand by

cause the mood of the sun changes

ok next?

yeah

[sorry if i'm taking too long]

don't bother about anything pls

tarot 3
i like the spacing & the ambiguous movement.
are the lines floating up or dropping down?

i think i will switch the image

more as a fountain falling down, a kind of palmtree i get that... it's a beautiful collection of repetitive pattern

true

yes maybe seeds

also true

dispersion, distribution, dissipation
french words

i think this one is not finished yet

as emeline is a french word too as i assume

french name

what would you add?

i will reshape it

and give it more of a shape of an explosion, a fountain

right right
flower can be a lot of things

that's for sure

it blooms
it decays
it feeds
it signs love
it smells
&tc

it seems

[next?]
i love snails. Des coquilles

me too!

this one is more sweet
& their love darts

it's very sweet, that's clear

it's like a cupido scene

ofc.
i guess tarot-wise, it could be VI. the lovers. but also links with IX. the hermit

prefer the hermit

hermit links with internal direction

great

also the colour?
self-containment

at the begining i was into colors meanings

but as i said it's not too linked with the true science of tarot

it said that blue is emotion

yeah, no problem, variants on responses to the tarot
red action ah! i didn't even see the blue till now
it's light

because of many manipulations applied to them

i'm unfamiliar with that specific alignment (blue=emotion; red=action)

but that makes sense
so bluemotion is protective/safe/home & the red appears at the exterior (outside the shell)

i treat them not very well all the time

some tarot-ists would interpret the direction of the spin of the shell, i don't know how

do you know anything about the color of the skin?

yes, also the right and left of the card?

the past/future

yeah, right/left has too many variants in differing decks... for me
i don't know about the snail's skin tint, no…

next?

tarot 4
more spirals
the moon watches over the labyrinth: an intuitive maze
or subconscious riddle
something oozes out, red (action?). is it ariadne's thread?

snake

red snake

slightin

ah!
a snake & a labyrinth... interesting combination
(trad) snake = 'knowledge'
so perhaps this relates to II. the high priestess
lunar knowledge. initiations. subconscious productivity

what is it about the high priestess exactly?

the high priestess is a card of veils, of being initiated into traditional knowledge (tora), of letting the unconscious do
it's work
like when you get to forget a name & want to remember it
instead of trying to recall it, you let yourself deal with it
more... or next?

less is more

there's something about the fuzzed edges too
less is less than more, also

i don't want to take all your time

[is it still helpful?]
what about the fuzzed edges?

yes it is

i'm not sure how to interpret them exactly, but there's a fade in tarot 5 that alludes to a sort of shifting

tarot 6
oooo, cute ones
6 makes more sense as the lovers, i guess

but as i feel i will not give them name of real tarot card, to compose stories it's interesting

for sure, they'll be just like 'divination cards’

yes, lovers

they look really comfy on their lil log
chirping together, but not to one another
singing ensemble
somehow makes me warm; cuddle-desire
but something about the eyes

one of them has a double face

yeah, that aspect is slightly disturbing... which most lovers’ cards also have

in which sense?

indecision or the need to make a decision (that's why there's usually 2 on the card somehow) is a common interpretation
for 6, lovers, with that decision there comes anxiety & other associated feels
disturbing because the double face is a 'sad' face

not really sad

maybe the partnership is an unhappy one; maybe their 'singing ensemble' is actually an impossibility of communication
(how easy it turns)

rather none expression

disturbing omg

maybe their log is too small & they want to be elsewhere & otherwise
indifference in relationships can cause disturbance

or ones feels someone observe them

sure
you're saying the orange one is dominant…

i didn't say anything like that

do you feel that?

if one 'feels someone observe them', i think the red is observing the yellow & the yellow isn't doing much about that
so that breeds the possibility of a power imbalance
maybe insecurity

do you think it’s about domination?

yes maybe

i don't, actually, no
but maybe

surveillance

mhmm
also, if they are a unit & one observes the other... it can be quite unfair
[we continue on...]

yep

this one’s also the lovers

more in balance

tarot 7, you mean?

yes

but i will let you say

ah yes, i see it
entwined coquilles with a touch of red (action)
it's quite sexy, in a soft way
a balanced erotic

yes reunited

i like the way the lines on the top fit
somehow it adds more balance

possible traces

[I feel I will have to be occupied soon by a child, maybe we speed up thru the others? a friend's child]
snails smear

no problem

whenever you want

tarot 8
also a flower, no?
with many many seeds
'possible [future] traces'

the same kind of flower as in the tarot 2

and tarot 10

mhmm, with the skin tone of the previous solo snail
[feel free ask if you want further descriptions, also...]

tarot 9... do i look at both white & black?

it’s the same

a sheath with a beautiful heart. perhaps it evokes commitment a desire to be (somewhat) bound or, at least, in sympathy with another (or others) as a form of committed love

yes links

chain

ties

yes

better

but also, the flowers, in order to be tied, need to be pulled out of the ground
i don't get that feeling from tarot 9, but there's a possibilty to interpret it in that direction

it’s a crow

what kind of feeling do you have

ease
tranquility
supportive environs
shall i go to the next1?
2 more, no? 10 & 11 and verso?

the verso will be the same for every cards

tarot 10
the skin resembles the skin of the hand in tarot 1
this makes sense of kabbala-style 10 = 1+0 = 1 resonance
a butterfly(?) juts out of someone’s ass
i'm not sure how to interpret this one

don’t worry

we can pass this

but feel free

it’s the same flower

becoming a puppet

ah
sex-slave…
or just submissive

yes

then i guess it's clear enough

nothing related to tarot?

hanged man, sort of

also a kind of spell

but hanged man is more of self-sacrifice
here it feels more like submission for/to another

but yes it’s more positive

hanged man exactly

good

tarot 11
ah yes, it is the verso, but more explicit. cornucopia & abundance

yes it’s clear

as for tarot, it could be III. the emperess or XXI, the universe/world
both provide (are 'providers')
enabling structures

sounds good

anything else?

the white peppers
but i don't have anything to add about them

i dont' see white peppers

ah, okay

what are they? one at the bottom, one on the right

it's horns

ah yes, cornus

so i think we've done the tour

i hope that was helpful
i wasn't expecting to get to it so swiftly, but i'm glad we did
the guided tour

i’m glad too!

so do you accept me using this

i mean our conversation use any words here as you like, yes

great

how do you feel about that

take my words as your own, if you like, even

… about what we did

i feel like tarot 6 or tarot 3
...maybe 4 too
is very good
will you keep me looped into where it goes?

of course

i will

great. i'm curious

and if you like one of them i can send it to you

for now it's for a publication online

but maybe
f you send one, tarot 7
that will become real
perhaps we will intersect one day

all right

thank you so much for your time

no problem. thanks for asking me to take part
have a good evening/sleep & sweet dreams. see you in the future

yes i really appreciate this

[children are here, perfect timing]

for you too

bye

(stranger) x

hazzah

DIVINATION CARDS by EMELINE DEPAS are premiered on GUEST ROOMS.

This new series of work consists of 12 images, inspired by iconography used in divinatory practices. As intended by the artist, one emblem is assigned to each card. 🕷The spider's web signifies dream; ⚡️ Lightning — revolt; ☮️ Peace sign earring — love; 🐍 Snake — knowledge. These symbolic representations are semantic structures allowing the viewer to interpret given images.

The images are presented alongside a script from a chat conversation between a professional diviner and the artist, where the diviner offers a tarot reading involving the cards created by the artist.

Special acknowledgements: LENDL BARCELOS and LAURIANE DETIEGE

Using various methods and references, the artist ultimately transforms her drawings into the three-dimensional sketches. EMELINE DEPAS's (1987, BE) work challenges the standard separation of artistic media. Depas draws, paints, cuts and recomposes iconographic elements from the pile of images of our time. Their references, however, are lost or tossed, stuttering and sometimes tending towards abstraction. Important are the procedures that are likely to make an image, or the delay or the suspension of forms. Alongside the pop- and humour flavoured compositions that characterize many of her collages and paintings, these days the artist engages in a more formal but no less sensitive research of tensions that might generate a relativization of the classical relationship between subject and background — BENOIT DUSART. Depas studied painting at L'École nationale supérieure des arts visuels (ENSAV) de La Cambre, Brussels and KASK School of Arts, Ghent. Her work was recently presented by Komplot, Brussels (solo and in collaboration with Julien Saudubray) and Sub Rosa Space, Athens and others.

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