Tutorial 6 (09.05.2025)

This was the last official tutorial of the course…it feels almost unreal. Jonathan complimented me on the impressive development of the past two years.  I feel a bit like a cat, with multiple lives. But if I look closely I realise how I’ve always been following the same thread. And I plan to keep following it, and changing lives and skins.

About the work, JK commented that:

• The materiality of what I‘m making is very interesting and becoming increasingly rich and complex.

• The ritual element that I am developing is deepening and also very interesting

I’ve been experimenting with the various techniques I learnt in the past year. For example I moved from my cosmic comfort zone to work with white background. I observe this and White feels emptier than black. JK asked me to elaborate on this. White for me is void, a sort of non-space, like the Matrix.  It isolates the object, removes all references. It’s disorienting.  Black, on the other hand, is like an infinte depth. I feel I can orientate myself in the darkness, it feels more material.

White is absence with edges. Black is an infinite container. One isolates, the other absorb

But this tension between the two is compelling. I want to follow this opposite/complementary approach further.

I tested dyeing some prints but I don’t like it. We discussed testing thick watercolour paper with liquid emulsion. JK recommended dyeing the paper first, then using liquid emulsion to limit damages. And also make sure to stretch the watercolour paper. I will give it a shot, but at the moment I miss my dark cosmology stuff.

I expressed my doubts on whether these new “Hands on Fire” works belong to the “hierophanies” series or if they are part of something new. What is a series, really? Is it about the narrative? The aesthetics? The technique?

JK said that reading the blog feels like a long trajectory of work. In terms of series, I can divide it however I want, but there’s always a blur between them. Because it’s transition work between one series and the other. He feels the work is more of a continuous flow, and that makes sense to me.

Experience of exhibiting: JK says I write very clearly about this. How this is an important part of the process for me, for the work, for the audiences.

JK made a comment about my confidence when I present the work (from the videos). I think it’s because I have spent so much time handling it and reflecting on it, that now I have so much clarity about this work, it’s like a pleasure to share it with people and answer their questions.And exhibiting teaches me a lot about the work too. People see totally different things in the images. And they always react to the sensory elements. So it works for me.

I found out people are very curious about the “how does it work”, I receive many technical questions. Which leads me to think that I would like to disclose a bit more of the process in the next exhibitions: showing originals, including tools, making a video, share part of what the process “behind the scenes” is.

We spoke about fire as an elemental force. It’s simple, but not easy. It’s the absolute core. And that simplicity reveals complexity to me.

I also shared a personal revelation of why I do this kind of work, why I need to do this work. It’s connected to the idea of wounds. Something I realised making the 3minutes video, interviewing myself in a flow.  

This process for me is therapeutic. It’s a way for me to reach deep wounds that I’m not even conscious of. A space that language cannot reach.  And it is painful and it is beautiful. It’s a healing process. But I also don’t really want to explicitly share that, I don’t want it to be the “meaning” of the work. It’s more like a side effect for me. JK noticed this aspect is reflected in the experimentation with Kintsugi.

A possible evolution could be to use multiple layers and different materials. I am planning to explore this further after the summer when I’m in Morocco and I can be inspired by the materials over there, maybe even collaborate with some artisans.

We then talked about the final show. I noticed that people are really drawn to process. So I want my final display to reflect that, and give it an immersive touch.

I decided not to use incense burning because the space doesn’t allow for that kind of sensory enhancement. And I want to think about the behaviour of the work in THAT space. It’s a rough space, there’s no lighting, it’s normally a working studios. The installation has to respond to that, while staying true to the essence of the work.

I want to keep it simple but smart: I’m proposing to set up a series of metal sheets, like those used in darkrooms to hang prints. I’ll hang the work on these metal sheets with magnets. They will be digital prints, original positives, sketches/scribbles, incense samples… glimpses of process. It’ll be installative and intimate, almost situational. This installation also allows flexibility to decide what to hang at the last minute :P

 I’m hoping to use a corner, to give a sense of intimacy and “darkroom” space, with 2 sheets per side (100x200 cm or 125x 250cm).

 JK really liked the idea. He said it works both technically and conceptually. All these little details make sense, they have a story, it feels very right.

I’m excited to get the final assessment out of the way and focus on this 100%.!

We briefly spoke about how my practice will evolve once I’ll be in Morocco (I’ll be spending a lot of time there starting September). The space, the scale, the light, the inspirations…a lot of things might shift. I think that if I were ever to work with colour at some point, that will happen in Morocco. Finally, JK asked if using my hands gives me more “options” to create shapes. To some extent, it does, because it’s like drawing. but in reality, I‘m more interested in the idea of “imprint”, of trace. I use also other parts of my body, and often they become abstract non- figurative marks. At the end I got quite sentimental thinking this is one of the first “lasts”. I’ll miss this, and I hope it won’t be the last conversation we have about art!

From the bottom of my heart, thank you JK. I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you. I hope one day you’ll come and witness my ritual when I finally burn a tree trunk and make a massive scale print!