In Togo & Benin, we have our own philosophy and worship. It is called Vodu, often mystically known as Voodoo. Vilified, called naive, primitive, devilish in order to have people follow the incoming religions, it still stands strong in both countries. But there is a lot of wisdom in its' essence. Wisdom that can benefit all of humanity and add to the philosophies already in place, as well as instill respect for the nature, the ancestors and the objects. Not all is perfect of course, but we can observe the good things, and leave what we don't need. I have discovered Bruno Cattani on Instagram, and he's on my checklist of people to befriend, because I am grateful for the...
Sometimes, I let my emotions get the best of me.More often than sometimes, to be totally honest. This balance is quite a work in progress. But then yesterday, I heard Dave Chappelle, my favorite comedian because of his fearlessness to say what he believes no matter how controversial, tell art students something I needed to be reminded of: " Let your voice be heard through your art." And then I reminded myself that I function essentially as a storyteller. I tell stories, in order to bring a vision of a world. Actually many visions. And I condense them into one. Which I truly believe we are. Because I am one. Probably, I will not be here to see...
A real question I have posed myself for many years.In a world where artist do not only compete with other contemporary artists, but also with deeply established dead artists, very few are those that actually manage to live a somehow decent life with the sales of their art.This is sad but it is a reality. So why should an artist be poor? In my case, this question was in dire need of answering after I graduated from art school. I started to wonder: " Well, now I can paint, draw, sculpt, but euhm, how will I pay my rent? How will I feed myself".At the age of 16 I was already living on my own, and had the luck to benefit...
Story time !I had an internship next to the Royal Park in Brussels a few years ago. Every morning I would walk by the park, and look at the architecture and the sculptures at the park.Needless to say that I do not walk around looking at my feet 😸These ovals highly inspired me and I knew this would be my logo.I started drafting in powerpoint, and asked a friend in South-Korea, to clean it up. Some time later I came with the final version that is now my logo. 🤘🏻
With this blog post I would like to briefly talk about how I deal with the insecurities of the image of the self, and since I am active in fashion, the insecurities of the amazing women and men that model for me. I have chosen to only use models that I know. Non-professional models.Why? Because I want to represent genuine people. Except for lighting modifications, I do not apply Photoshop either. Why? Because I want to represent genuine people. And when dealing with the genuine, insecurities are a part of the game. When ask friends to pose for me, the reactions are often the same. Surprise. The classic 'but I don't look like a model'. I often feel like people...
