Chink ink, paint, acrylic, gouache and thread on paper, 150x80cm, 2008.

The work presented here is the final of a series. Different materials were used in order to create this piece. One can clearly see the ink, the white paint, the ochre, yellow and blue acrylic and thread (in lesser use). The support of this work is paper, two kinds of, more precisely: Package paper and Wall paper, which have different textures.

The techniques present on this work are of different natures. We can see engraving, using of a roll, brushstrokes, drippings. However the engraving and paint applied with a roll are the most present one in this work. This has of course a signification, a purpose.

The first and major idea of the work are layers. In fact, there isn’t just a single sheet of paper, but several. The use of the roll creates layers of paint and ink on the paper itself. These paint layers are the medium for the engraving. The act of engraving has a certain importance, as it is a forced and persistent action. Unlike painting or drawing, engraving something is in some extend hurting the material, forcing it to take the form one desire.
Like in graffiti, engraving has a function, a purpose. It clearly says:"I was here". In our society, many people amuse themselves by writing on walls, on tables. Those signs often get a respond from another person. And this action is reproduced, on and on. In fact, those people are engraving there existence in a present place. Due to the multiplicity of humans, there will automatically be a multiplicity of signs, creating layers of information on our walls. So this works treats two aspect of human being: the writing and stacking.

However, unlike the inspiration it comes from, the layers always present the same type of signs. In fact they are all produced in the same way. One question one may ask is why are they needed if they are all the similar? The answer is simple. Every layer is made by one single person, one way of creating and telling ideas. If the layers would try to recreate the climax of graffiti, they would be a bad copy of an already existing world. Every layer is the proof of the existence of a past action, yet they cannot exist alone. This is because they are linked together, in memory.

Memory is, in some way, the keyword of the whole work. Engraving, forcing a proof of existence is an act of memory. Layers, although they are similar, are part of a memorial work. One can see the same signs on the sheet above, as on the sheets below. However, they are not exactly identical. As memory, the layers are altering, changing, forgetting some signs. The form is always the same, the details are not, yet everything is linked together. The layers are sewn by a thread. This thread represents the bound between the past and the present. The different types of paper (package paper and wall paper) are also sewn together, as there would be different types of memory, represented by the different types of textures.

A last aspect of the work is the action to let the old layers, memories bloom. In fact as engraving is the first action done to the paper, if one pushes the engraving to its limit, the paper will tear up, and the different layers are beginning to mix with each other. Continue this action and the paper will suffer a major wound, like a slash, showing what is underneath, although not very precisely. This does not matter as memory is something everyone keeps for themselves, and so this works keeps practically every layer for itself, letting just going through enough information to understand its purpose, its existence.