Trash Treasures
“Trash Treasures” is my prolific series. It all started like child’s play and keeps going, no stop in sight. I used to jog near the building site of the swimming pool in our village. Each time I would pass by, I saw rusty wires and nails in the dirt and thought how much fun it would be to use them in pictures. One day, I collected and stuck them on recycled cardboard. A whole series of lively and expressive characters came into being. Later on, even funnier titles came to my mind. Through a favorable combination of circumstances, I was invited to show my pictures at the inauguration of the swimming pool. Within hours I sold half of the collection. My very first exhibition was an unexpected success.
Ever since, I gather rusty elements. Friends and family bring me some. Sometimes they also order customized pictures as gifts.
Rust in itself is a lively element. It contains transformation, past, present and future, it is both hard and brittle, old and new, black and colored. I enjoy composing images without title. But more often than not, when a series comes to my mind, I first gather quotes and then illustrate them. Over time, I built my own precious collection of quotes which I call "Fast-food-for-thought".
Everything seems to happen faster on the planet nowadays. Even if we do not like it, we are often on the run, with no time to smell the roses. Like an espresso, a quote can wake us up instantly, open our mind and heart and give us a pause for a while. My figures are often reduced to the minimum - scarce, archetypal, essential. They contain their own code, language and dialog. In mini format they bring a smile, a piece of wisdom, a fresh perspective or even a new life philosophy. The viewer gets a short break inside my fantasy world. I describe my "Trash Treasures" as "art-to-go".
I am happy to take orders for new pieces. Usually I ask for information about the person receiving the picture and insert personalized messages. Playing with quotes, humor and ambiguity, the picture often ends up as a portrait of their soul.
I am also pleased to display my works. They attract viewers' interest, be it individually or displayed as a series.