It’s important to know about the person behind the artist and the works. Here is some info:
I was born in Algeria from a Franco/Spanish family. I lived from extensive periods in South Africa, South America and I am now based in the UK (MA in Fine Art Brighton University in 2008). My practice is deeply informed by my personal history and my work is concerned with diaspora, identity, post-colonialism and the existential crisis humanity faces and paradigm shift required of us to combat climate change. My work develops my artistic philosophy and concerns with humanity as well as explore our relationship with our environment.
If you want to know more (and of course I wish you do), here is an interview with pictures and all
Brèves de comptoir/Bar talk
These often start as informal drawings that reflect the way my mind can meander in often weir directions.
They are “personal ruminations” that work much better in their drawing form than they would as texts or conversations.
They are sometimes mixed with photographs and aim at crystallising some primal personal or societal truths
Arcadia lens
These works explore memory through a post colonialist lens. It stems from a sense of being estranged from my country of origin but also not quite at home in France. Born in Algeria, I grew up in France, then spent years in South Africa, Ecuador and now the UK.
This wandering life and the original estrangement from my birth country left me this inner space that wants filling, yet can only remain empty.
Somehow my soul harks back to Algeria
London’s burning
‘London’s Burning’ offers a “spiritual” vision of the recent riots in England. Inspired by the Landmarks stained glass windows the work has a mosaic-like quality with their rich and almost transparent, luminous colours. As such they can be compared to the pictures depicting the ‘lives of saints’ where the narrative is intended for the edification of the faithful and has moral and instructional purposes.
Click on Image to access series
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Ecclectomania
Do these images all exhibit a form of magical realism? Possibly. In any case they demonstrate a vision immune from mundane reality. After all, I spent 6 years in Ecuador, a land hanging between heaven and earth where wonders abound at every turn and one walks among the clouds…