In London, in 1928, a group of mold spores drifted on a petri dish which was mistakenly not placed in the lab' incubator. Alexander Fleming came back from his holidays to discover penicillin, no less than a medical revolution.

Over the course of several months, I dedicated all the time and resources I could to learn what only a very skillful hand or machine could achieve: a "perfect" white background. While it felt thrilling to focus on an almost impossible goal, a beautiful accident occurred. I stacked all my "failed" plates on the top of each other, out of my sight. I put them in a hidden corner where they couldn't act as reminders of my lack of skills. When I looked at them again, a plate made of clay left its imprint on the plate below. It inspired me acceptance and I finally chose to embrace the brush strokes and other "imperfections".
A work of chance and choice.

After all, we are an ecosystem and ultime control or certainty are unachievable. Only a balance between intentionality and openness can lead us to better understand and navigate within ourselves, others and the world around us.

Chance and Choice, Private Studio, Brussels, Belgium, Belgium
2021

(1) Untitled (Card Draw on Wood), 2021
Iridescent hot stamping foil, wood (60 x 120 each), varnish and glue.
Dimensions variable.
Foil stamping is a very precise printing process widely used in the industry. The heat press allows, for example, very neat shapes onto packagings or magazines. In this series of works, glue is poured generously onto wood before the foil is placed on top. The glue is directed outwards by hand before the foil is removed. The traces of gestures are at play with the texture of the wood and its absorption properties, while the artificial colors applied are contrasting with its natural colors. Some aspects of the print are predicable, while the liquid friction is left to hazard and creates a different and unpredictable drawing each time. In space, the shimmering colors are constantly changing according to the quality of the light, the time of the day and the position of the viewer.

(2) Interplays, 2021
Clay board and paint.
Dimensions variable.
Over the course of several months, I dedicated all the time and resources I could to learn what only a very skillful hand or machine could achieve: a "perfect" white background. While it felt thrilling to focus on an almost impossible goal, a beautiful accident occurred. I stacked all my "failed" plates on the top of each other, out of my sight. I put them in a hidden corner where they couldn't act as reminders of my lack of skills. When I looked at them again, a plate made of clay left its imprint on the plate below. It inspired me acceptance and I finally chose to embrace the brush strokes and other "imperfections".
A work of chance and choice.

(3) Color Drunkness (Transience), 2021
Ambient light and Video (3min06 - loop).
Dimensions variable.
During the exhibition Chance and Choice, in Brussels on November 2021, the video Color Drunkness was projected, on a white wall. The moving image was almost imperceptible when the room was intensely bathing in sunlight and the orange and green shadows of the large antique colored-glass windows. The blurry colors revealed themselves, in all their intensity, as night fell.

Photos : Silvia Cappellari