From the Shores, 2019. Installation, painter’s tape, drawing machine, 5 plexiglass panels, each 80 x 120 cm.
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While walking around Roubaix, I was particularly intrigued by the McArthur Glenn center—like a city within a city. This little enclave contrasted sharply with what I had seen of Roubaix and its inhabitants. I wanted to define the boundaries of this territory through walking.
After measuring the perimeter of the place, I replicated the same distance in writing on rolls of masking tape.
Painter’s tape is usually used to avoid going over the edges, to create clean, sharp outlines. Using my machine, I wrote while walking, covering enough sticky tape to encircle this shopping street. The writing is descriptive and straightforward; I note what I see, hear, and feel directly onto the sticky side of the tape. The ink remains on the surface and partly transfers onto the tape as it gets rolled up again.
The information is lost almost instantly, at the speed of thought. All that remains are stains and fragments to be puzzled together and imagined.
