Wall mounted wooden circle covered in deep blue velvet from which hangs a metal skewer with pieces of food made of different stones.

Brochette

Plexiglass silhouette of a Sphynx cat embedded in a wooden base covered by rubber and circled by multi colour computer wire.

My relationship to painting is a complicated one. Here, I stretched a raw canvas and cast it in aluminium. 

Mixed Feelings

The search to end my intimidation by a noble material. 

Marble Reduction

I am a SCUBA diving instructor. In 2004 I traveled to Thailand and arrived on the island of Koh Phi Phi, 4 months after the tsunami that devastated South East Asia. On the ferry there, a Belgian journalist, coming back for a follow up, remarked that he was happy to see that the place did not smell of death anymore. When the wave hit, it destroyed 60 percent of the buildings on the island and claimed nearly 1300 lives. You could see the desolation everywhere, only locals and volunteers inhabited the island and had just the most basic of amenities.

For the following 4 months to the rate of 3 dives a day and 6 days a week, I became part of the volunteer clean up diving crew. We collected literal tons of debris strewn 12 metres deep in the bay of Koh Phi Phi. Working with the amazing dive/snorkel teams, we filled our underwater nets with every conceivable remains we could grasp.

This piece is a commemoration of that experience; and a small monument to it. All the materials used are second hand, found, or given to me in the spirit of sharing resources. The snow globe shape is a reminder that the tsunami happened on December 26 while the sand and metal pieces are a representation of the countless undulated iron sheets we pulled out of the bottom of the sea. Those were the main roofing materials for the 800 bungalows and buildings that disappeared. The debris retrieved from the water has ranged from trees and construction materials to personal effects vital in helping identify those missing in the wake of the disaster.

TSUNAMI, KOH PHI PHI THAILAND 2004

Part of a series of wall mounted sculptures. Why wouldn’t sculptors have some of that wall space?

It’s a circular piece of wood covered in red velvet in the centre of which there is a classic cameo figure. The portrait is surrounded by an amorphous fortification.

Cameos were made by the Ancient Mediterraneans and are still recognized as an art form today. As it is often my inclination, I am bringing an item from the past into the present by way of materials. 

Igneous Portrait

This piece comes out of my research on the allegorical representation of women in statuaries and monuments. 

_Cicatrix_ is a wearable performative piece composed of a bright yellow vinyl floor-length tunic and a steel chainmail scarf that is 144 inches long, weighs 60 lbs which partially obscures the model's face. Each ring of the scarf represents a micro aggression that women internalize and drag with them throughout their lives. This garment is made by a process that combines armour making (historically men's work) and crocheting (historically women's work).

The scarf's heaviness causes her to stand tall and show strength. The tail of the scarf falls to the ground with a loud clunk that echoes as she walks away. We are forever dragging these aggressions within us.

Cicatrix

Copper coin bank suspended by a leather cord.

Add

Isabelle zab