Soap work

​

The bars of soap are used as a substitute to a building unit (brick, stone). The soaps’ soft texture conveys the idea of fragility. The everyday use of soap on our bare hands or naked body give the installations a sense of sensuality and intimacy. 

​

Sometimes the soap’s fragility is challenged. By mixing soap with concrete, glue, varnish, paper or mesh, I increase its longevity. This fragile and sensitive material can then stand the test of time. After a while, the soap may loose its perfume, but it won't crumble.

​

In some installations the viewers are encouraged to engage with the soap-walls. They are immersed in a space and they engrave messages inside the soft texture of the soaps. That was the case of "Mess-age", installation at the Saatchi Mess Gallery (2010-2022), near the restaurant. 

​

The soap is widely used for hands and bodies. Simple gestures. Common gestures. With COVID these simple gestures became legalized gestures. Heavy and anxious gestures.

​

Being in a room full of soap bars, which can no longer be used for cleaning your hands, allow the viewer to take a step back and have a giggle about the whole thing. But the temptation to touch the walls is irresistible. Soap calls for touching. In the absence of water, the viewer takes a stick and makes a graffiti instead. 

​

​

​

​

​

​

​