Jonquets
Making off Ishokujuu : Project room 17 for Aba Art Lab
Ishokujuu is the concept I am working on for the upcoming solo show at ABA ART LAB in Mallorca on June 6th. It is a Japanese expression to describe the basic necessities o to define quality of life:
i - clothing
shoku - food
juu - shelter
When talking about our basic needs - ishokujuu - it was very important to work in an austere or material conscious way.
Starting point for this project has been to work with what I have in my studio, without buying any new materials. Transforming, recycling, decomposing or recomposing, finding means in what I have in my working space, shelves and drawers to express ideas and thoughts.
Stacks of paper, yarn, boxes with fabric scraps or vintage books have been the materials I have been using to create this site specific art installation and works for PROJECT ROOM 17 at Aba Art Lab.
It has been a challenge and in some way I have been put out of my comfort zone, specially when sewing polyester fabrics. But it has also been very interesting to see how a vintage architecture book has unfolded into space as well as piles of papers that I rescued once from a printing workshop that was closing down. Meaningful also to use a dusty yarn cone from a not longer existing knitwear factory in Catalonia, that someone brought to me one day and transform it again into some knitted garments that will be part of the art installation.
Using artisanal techniques as knitting, sewing, quilting to create some of the art works have also been intentional. Introducing textile crafts to produce art works I claim their value as artistic expression.
Working with soft materials, changing technology derived production for hand operated simple tools have been key to me.
- Making -
My hands act as brushes to fill the blank canvas of the gallery space.
Natural color landscapes
Commissions for ABA ART LAB / Fabric screens and paper panels with natural color for site specific spaces.
Cherry leaves pigment, Indigo and Ferrous sulfate
Pagoda tree flower, Indigo and ferrous sulfate
I will fade
in Exhibition
I will fade - natural pigment screen print
in Exhibition
For this limited edition screen print I have prepared a special ink with natural pigments from plum tree bark (Prunus cerasifera). Natural dye pigments are less lightfast than synthetic ones, more vulnerable... but full of life. The pale pink color created for this piece is skin like, a blush soft tone. Sooner or later we all will fade as this piece of art.
I will fade / 2018 /Screen print with natural pigment / Limited edition of 15 / 50cm x 35 cm
Withered
The beauty of transformation, faded, dried out, wrinkled. Digital photographs with no styling or post editing. A flower bouquet that I bought for my studio is once withered hung on a rope of my studio patio. Some flowers are hanging, other falling down or in delicate balance with their dried stems.
Withered / 2018 / Digital print on Hahnemüller Photorag Ultra Smooth / 63cm x 42 cm