In A Summertime Odyssey, French painter and photographer Ayline Olukman takes us on her American journey. Between fiction and reality, the road trip develops into an American intimate experience of a person and of her encounters along the way. A photographic portrait of a person and her emotional relationship to America emerges. The images are re-interpreted by the oil painting and we know we are far from the reality of the scenes but in a world stuck between a fantasized imagery and the earthy reality.

A photographer, Olukman captures images of America that feel strangely familiar, and that seem to capture a moment suspended in time. She compares her paintings to stills from movies; constructing a scene for the viewer, only setting the tone, and inviting them to create their own personal narrative from her work. Ayline’s time on the road allows her to be completely free from boundaries, embracing the experiences on her journey. As she captures these adventures during her wanderings through her camera, she shares it with a reinterpretation on canvas with oil and the colors construct a completely new narrative.

The creation of Ayline Olukman’s work unfolds like a cinematic narrative, with each piece emerging through an immersive and highly personal process. Her method draws from the logic of tapestry-making: printed black-and-white photographs are carefully adhered to canvas, forming a second skin upon which the image is transformed.

By stripping her photographs of color, Olukman creates space to reintroduce it on her own terms. She builds the surface through thin, translucent layers of paint, allowing depth and new tonal relationships to gradually emerge. Selective, heavier applications of oil paint punctuate the surface, adding texture and detail that further activate the image.

This layered approach results in works that exist between photography and painting, documentation and imagination. Each piece reflects Olukman’s singular perspective, shaped by movement, curiosity, and lived experience, mirroring her identity as a traveler attentive to the beauty, emotion, and fleeting moments that define life.