Yvonne Lacet 

Incognito 

Incognito

About the artist

Yvonne Lacet revisits a topic well known to art history and photography: our urban environment. Using paper, scissors and glue, she boils down the city to its core: simple geometric volumes, ordered in a densely meshed network. A generic city which, thus fashioned from folded sheets of cardboard, reveals the paradox of its fragility. The duality is expressed in both of these images: Incognito encapsulates a city proudly flaunting its buildings, while Playground, conversely, expresses their demise.

Interview

Could you tell us about these two pictures, "Incognito" and "Playground"? Are they both visions of the city?
In my work, I’m oftentimes searching for archetypical images of modern city spaces. Places that everyone somehow knows and instantly recognizes. The picture "Incognito" is such a vision of an archetypal city.
My work is also about the construction and deconstruction of these cityscapes, and about how fast - even indifferently - huge changes take place. "Playground" is about cityscapes that have been built, that constantly change, grow, diminish. Cityscapes that are repudiated and slowly fall apart.

In your work, paper is a central material. You cut, glue, paste, and sometimes even tear it. What are the expressive possibilities offered by paper? 
I like to work with paper and cardboard because of the simplicity of these materials. A white piece of paper almost stands as a symbol for empty or blank. I don’t think paper has endless expressive possibilities – on the contrary, and that is precisely the most interesting aspect about paper. Paper’s limited possibilities provide me with strict boundaries while carrying out my projects. It’s like a set of blocks. You can choose from certain forms, colours and structures. I like to cultivate and enhance those limitations, while still trying to provoke complex associations.

Looking closely at the pictures, one can see imperfections marring the surface of the paper structures. Is it important for you to preserve this roughness?
It’s very important for my work. At first sight, the image appears to be very clean and spotless, almost perfect, as in a computer print. Further examination reveals a rough side to the objects in the photos, an imperfection that provides personality, in a way, to the alleged initial emptiness. The seams, cuts and glue spots are also aspects that contribute to the experience of the cityscapes as quickly built scenery, often destined to exist for a brief time.

Limited edition, numbered and signed. 

Selected shows and awards

Still/Life, Foam, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 2011
Double Dutch, Victory Gallery, Portland, USA, 2011
Foam Pop-in, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 2011
The Collector's Guide to New Art Photography, Chelsea Art Museum, New York, USA, 2011
Movements of a City, Galerie Bart, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 2010
Hyeres International Fashion and Photography Festival, Hyeres, France, 2010
31 Women in Art Photography, Affirmation Arts, New York, USA, 2010
Bouw in Beeld Prijs, Cobra Museum, Amstelveen, Netherlands, 2009

Selected publications

The Sun Session, The Session, 2011
Met Stip, Fonds BKVB, 2010 (catalogue)
Hyeres International Fashion and Photography Festival, 2010 (catalogue)
ARCAM Nieuws, ARCAM, 2009

Details

& order

Yvonne Lacet 
Incognito

2010

Technical information

Digital Lambda c-print on satin paper - limited edition, numbered and signed certificate.

Dimensions

30 x 24 cm , Edition of 100 200.00 €




By the same artist

Yvonne Lacet


By the same curator