In the idea of creating a “conscious” art, the question of materials, tools and techniques is important. I mainly work with painting and sculpture. Each idea carries its own way of materialisation, so I let my creative thinking tell me what shapes have to be created as much as how to do it.
Manual skills appear to me as links between human beings, between eras. Observing and developing skills and craft allows me to be in contact with human history in a very material yet sensible way. I observe its qualities, textures and colors.
INDIGO
Recently I started using Indigo as a pigment for paint, and a textile dye.
Beyond using it for its shades of blue, for me it carries meaning. The indigo plant has always been cultivated and used in every continent. Its presence in my work is a symbol of the unification of peoples, of unity, of universality.
PAINT
I use cold encaustic paint produced in small quantities. The elaboration of this “clean” (or low-impact) painting is the result of many years of research by the painter José Cuni to find the formula of encaustic used by the ancient Greeks and Romans. It is beeswax based and watersoluble. Its finish is matte or satin to glossy depending on how it is applied. Impossible to compare encaustic with acrylic which is rather inert. It captures light in a very unique way.
PAPER
Currently several types of paper reside in my folders, either from sustainably managed forests or from recycled material (paper, cardboard, fabric…).
I sometimes use upcycled material.
FABRIC
The fabrics I use today come from upcycling or heritage. Textiles and clothing have an important place in my family history. My mother transmitted me her love for this material, just as she received it from our ancestors, ancestresses.
TOOLS
As far as brushes are concerned, it seems more complex today to find a solution outside of acrylic or animal materials. For the moment, I use the ones that have been with me for many years while looking for new material. I imagine that brushes made of vegetable biopolymer will soon see the light of day (if it is not already the case).