2012 -2014
My first studio in Paris while I was working as an assistant for Anselm Kiefer.
I was very affected by my basic, mundane tasks for Anselm Kiefer (refer to page on Anselm Kiefer), so during my evenings and weekends I attempted to affirm my individuality: which resembled a personal quest of sorts that had me replicating the same daily actions that I was doing for Anselm, but naively thinking they were mine. My position as an assistant, eroded little by little my creativity. To be in my own studio tormented me, I fought to confront myself.
I recovered materials from work with the goal to repurpose them for my own creation. I craved to mold the material, to create with it. The goal was to “do” without overthinking.
– Burlap collages on paper, covered with pigments, colored by wine, which will later on give birth to more classic paintings out of oil.
– Acrylic mastic used on a canvas frame gave volume to the painting of a skull.
– Lead sheets, cut and assembled, welded and molded created little chairs, small bowls, an Indian headdress, a vessel.
– Cacti made with zinc leaves.
– Potatoes, cast in plaster then gilded with gold leaf.
– Hands, mainly fists, molded in clay.
Not long ago, I was interviewed at the Gare de Nantes by a local journalist. The journalist asked me how to best describe my contribution to the concrete tree sculpture; as an artist or an artisan? Normally, this type of question would have left me speechless, had I not thankfully prepared a very polite, very vague answer:
“we are a bit of both”