Your latest installation explores the fusion of touch and vision. How do you envision viewers interacting with your work, and what impact do you hope it has on their perception of everyday objects?
By providing the experience of entering a room filled with patterns, this installation functions as a device that offers new sensory experiences, revealing a new world.
For this installation, I have collaborated with Pierre Frey to create wallpapers, fabrics, and carpets based on my artwork. We have also incorporated their new furniture pieces, including chairs and sofas, into the installation.
The installation consists of two rooms: Room Chandelier and Room Menhir. Each room features Pierre Frey's new furniture. Room Chandelier contains chairs, while Room Menhir features a sofa. In the former, numerous chairs are suspended from the ceiling, forming a chandelier-like piece. Additionally, my sculptures, covered in blue-coloured aluminium foil (representing heads and torsos), are displayed.
In the latter room, a large sofa stands in the centre, half-covered with orange-coloured aluminium foil, a material I frequently use in my work. Sculptures covered in the same orange-coloured aluminium foil are also arranged in this space.
I have stripped the furniture of its functionality, presenting it solely as objects and sculptures. This is an attempt to transform the stable, familiar context of objects into something unfamiliar.
By focusing on the surface and eliminating the functionality of objects, I aim to offer people a perspective in which the known becomes the unknown.
In your installation with Pierre Frey’s artisans, how did the collaboration shape the final outcome of the project, and what did you learn from this process?
This time, we created an installation space using wallpapers, fabrics, and carpets based on a single pattern. The creation process involved discussions with each of Pierre Frey's designers.
It was a fusion of their expertise and my vision, and I couldn't fully grasp what the final products would look like until I saw the actual samples. However, each completed piece was unique and luxurious. At first glance, it was evident that they embodied exceptional craftsmanship. The final products turned out wonderfully, thanks to Pierre Frey's remarkable craftsmanship and the professional designers.
When we incorporated the wallpapers, fabrics, and carpets into the installation space, they created a stunning harmony. Despite being produced through entirely different methods, each element was completed to a very high standard, contributing a strong presence to the space.
Can you discuss your process for integrating unconventional materials, such as pressed aluminium foil, into traditional art forms like fabric, wallpaper, and carpet?
As an artist, I am deeply interested in textures and am always experimenting to explore new forms of expression. Aluminium foil is one of the materials I discovered through this exploration. I have been creating works named "Folia" using this material.
I am fascinated by the shapes and patterns created by aluminium foil. When this collaboration was proposed, I saw it as an opportunity to express "Folia" on a larger scale.
Transforming these works into entirely different materials was unexplored territory for me, offering a new, unpredictable form of expression.
Ultimately, the results exceeded my expectations. Each production process was complex and time-consuming, but the finished products reflect the intricate craftsmanship involved.
Your installation SKIN emphasises the fusion of touch and vision to offer a richer understanding of our living spaces. Can you elaborate on how the patterns inspired by pressed aluminium foil in your "folia" series contribute to this sensory experience?
Each pressed foil piece has a unique shape and a surface marked by countless wrinkles, transforming into parts that collectively create a pattern.
Each form resembles a continent, and its texture is akin to an enlarged view of our skin. Thus, it can be interpreted as representing continents from a macro perspective and skin from a micro perspective.
Moreover, when these pieces are applied to the surface of an object, they alter the perceived mass of the object. Viewers are left uncertain about whether the objects are heavy or light.
By immersing themselves in this space, people confront the surface qualities of objects, creating a kind of introspective environment.
How do you technically adapt your patterns and designs from their original inspirations in pressed aluminium foil to new mediums such as fabric, wallpaper, and carpet while maintaining their integrity and emotional impact?
None of this would have been possible without the exceptional designers at Pierre Frey. They discerned the unique characteristics of the original artwork among the diverse modes of expression each product presented. Respecting the original, they proposed the best options, ensuring each piece was unique and true to the original vision.
What methods do you employ to integrate colour, texture, and symbolism into your artworks, particularly how you balance these elements to create a cohesive piece that resonates on multiple sensory and emotional levels?
Tactile and visual perceptions complement each other, enabling a richer understanding of the world.
Thanks to texture, objects can convey a sense of lightness or heaviness, and colours can have depth. A textured surface contains more information than a simply painted one, altering the viewer's perception and eliciting a stronger emotional response.
I draw inspiration from everyday objects, repeatedly experimenting with and incorporating them into my creations as one form of expression, much like paint. Therefore, I strive to eliminate preconceived notions and observe objects in a neutral, unbiased way. This approach might be what allows me to achieve an unconventional sense of balance.
