A deeper focus onto the story behind some of the artwork
Each painting is a journey, with a story to tell.
Most of my work is very instinctive and the gesture and colours impose themselves to me.
Below is a selection of artwork and their stories.
Palermo Hollywood, June 2016, Oil on canvas, 40 x 40 cm
This piece is born out of musical influence, and is part of a series of three paintings.
I got obsessed by one of the latest albums of the French singer Benjamin Biolay, Palermo Hollywood. During several months, I wasn’t able to listen to anything else, and was struck by his ability to create layers in his music, each conveying a different information. I was interested in his skillful way of layering to produce solid, compelling pieces and used its structure to create this piece.
La Nuit N’’Existe Pas, June 2016, Oil on canvas, 40 x 40 cm
This is the second piece I developed based on a song by Benjamin Biolay. Like each painting in this series, this one was created with the chosen song (La Noche Ya No Existe) on repeat, listening to the sensations and feelings they gave me. I translated words and musical phrases into colours and marks, movements and shades. It is a spontaneous gestural work, which was built on during several weeks.
Vague A L’Ame, June 2016, Oil on canvas, 40 x 40 cm
This is the third piece I developed based on a song by Benjamin Biolay, this one called "La Debandade". Although the three art works were developed in parallel and at the same time, this one was the last one to be completed.
It embodies some of the two others, and benefited from the experience of the two first pieces. It holds a sense of strength and calm that couldn't be without the existence of the two previous pieces. This series led me to the idea of exploring further the relationship between music and painting.
K, May 2015, Oil on canvas with paper collage, 60 x 40 cm
The letter K was used as a repeating pattern, broken up and distorted, to represent the battle and oppositions present in the relationship it depicts.The letters are formed of paper that is roughly glued to the canvas –and sometimes sticking out, giving a sense of mess and urgency. The relationship was intense and passionate, and had a calming, troubling and stirring effect. I wanted to convey a sense of push and pull and paradox in this painting.
Leaving Kate, February 2016, Oil on Canvas, 50 x 40 cm
This piece shows the same character twice, once facing the viewer and another time leaving, going towards their light, climbing their own mountains, away from the viewer. The title is ambiguous as who makes the action of leaving, the character of the painting or the story teller.
The Whisky Monster, January 2017, Pastel, wine and whisky on canvas, 50 x 40 cm
This piece is a query around alcohol. I listened and took notes on how people around me, friends, colleagues, strangers, relate to alcohol and what message they are conveying, what message we, as a society, are daily conveying. "Give me a glass of wine and I'll answer this question, I am not drunk enough for this! A party without alcohol is not a party worth going to"
Alcohol in Britain is praised. This painting looks funny and nearly friendly at first but as we look more, it becomes less funny and more threatening, nearly uncomfortable. We soon realise that it is a monster, a very sly one.
Temple, April 2015, Cotton gaze, acrylic and tape stretched on wood, 70 x 60 cm
This piece is about the massacre of the Temple Solaire in 1994 in Switzerland. The cult killed 74 people over 2 years, in three group murders. Whilst producing the piece, I went with sensations, anger and disgust. Some things I used to convey these feelings are the black tape, representing the police crime scene tapes quickly put across, but also the imaginary blindfold that members of the cult had to wear, representing their naivety and eagerness to comply. It also gives a rhythm and a sensation of fragmentation and broken glass, something that has been fractured and smashed. The fabric represents the illusion of the people in the cult -it is beautiful and romantic, but is also the gauze wrapped around injuries. It is a three dimensional piece, and there is a 3 cm gap between the fabric and the paper back, with a cross shaped black print. The three colours chosen, black, red and white represent the colours used by the cult, but also hope, blood and darkness. I added hints of blue on the sides for the illusion and dream of some of the victims.