For Catherine Hélie-Harvey, a self-taught artist, colours are characters in their own right in her vibrant and exploded drawings. This fascination for colours finds its expression in the luxuriant vegetation always present as a backdrop. Her work often depicts strong and determined women who must face hardships alone in a disturbing and often inhospitable environment.They embody the survival instinct, continually alterning between life and death impulses. From the cradle to the grave, they may go through theaffliction of violence and mental illness, but retain their capacity to give life.The nature around is lush, virginal, preserved from mankind but it remains disturbing and often inhospitable. Animals are also an integral part of thisfantastical natural world. Driven by a ferocious will to live, their piercing gaze almost humanize them. The bright colours contrast with the often tragic thematics and reinforce the feeling of strangeness.