Gradot, Olivier

France

I am 43 years old french caver and I’m also passionate by many forms of art since my childhood.
Most of my art activity is related to small format using ink and colors but I’m also addicted to photography (digital and analog like pinhole and darkroom photography) and painting. I also love to make short movies scenario and being part oft he team (actor, music player…).

I begun caving in 2014 and found that art and caves is a nice melting of passion.
By now I have made caving inspired graphic diaries, comics and sketches and I’m happy to share with you three projects for your event, I hope you will
find some pleasure while looking at them.

If you are interested some of my artworks can be seen here (not only caving related)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/olivier_gradot/collections/72157653360216316/ [flickr.com]
And some of my caving pictures can be seen here :
https://www.flickr.com/photos/olivier_gradot/albums [flickr.com]
Do not hesitate to ask me for original scan files or to ask any complementary informations you may require.

Exploration Diary

Japanese book, black pages, 13 x 21 cm, 17 pages, February 2022

“Exploration Diary” is a story of caving friendship compiling extract of the memories of the exploration I made with my caving fellow. The book consists of 17 pages, as it is a Japanese book all pages are in fact a single page bent many times like an accordion, the drawing on the pages are made using colored pencils on black paper, each pages of the book are protected (when the book is closed) from their respective pigments by the means of trancing paper sheets on which I drawn sketches of my fellow during his explorations.

Caving Sketches

Chinese black ink on paper, A4 or A5, February 2022

A4 or A5 Black Ink sketches I made about the explorations I made with my caving fellow.

Comics, Chinese black ink on Bristol paper, A5, 14 pages, March 2018

This project is a small humoristic and graphic comics inspired by the legendary relation who people believe is real between a cave diver and the peoples who hold the diving gear during the exploration (most of people believe in the legend that the diver hold nearly nothing in order to keep his force for the dive). The story speaks about the Rat (my nickname) and the Lynx (my caving fellow’s one) during an exploration where the Lynx have to pass a sump for the need of the exploration. The Rat’s task will be to carrying all the stuff and taking good of his buddy… but the
Lynx is a special man.