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Stéphanie Rollin and David Brognon might never have worked together. A self-taught graffiti artist and an art school-trained artist do not make an obvious match for a creative partnership. But fate stepped in, and they met at a coffee machine at the MUDAM (Luxembourg contemporary art museum).
Perhaps this is why their first collaboration in 2004 focused on this notion of destiny, linking reality to art. Before each project, they completely immerse themselves in the actual subject they want to portray. “We have a real need to understand before we create, because we can’t talk about things we don’t understand,” explains Stéphanie. They once spent several months at the Caterpillar factory in Gosselies, Belgium (before its permanent closure), and for another project at Fixerstuff amongst people struggling with substance use. Their time at Fixerstuff resulted in a piece named “Fate will tear us apart” — an installation mapping out the palm lines of those suffering from addiction in white neon lights.
“We have a real need to understand before we create, because we can’t talk about things we don’t understand.”
Themes including temporality and confinement are also prevalent in their art. On the island of Gorée off the coast of Senegal, which became known as a symbol of the abduction of slaves across the Atlantic, they drew the outlines of the island on paper with the help of transparent panels. They then sent the panels to Brussels, where they are now kept inside a metal cabinet — locked up as the slaves were back then.
Physical confinement is explored in their current work on Charcot disease. “Patients can only communicate by blinking. For this project, we are collaborating with a lighthouse off the coast of Saint-Nazaire in France which will project a message written by a patient. It’s an incredible human and artistic adventure,” says David. Since their debut, many of their works have joined permanent collections in museums such as the Musée National d’Art Moderne in Paris, the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, and the MUDAM.
Stéphanie and David like to say that they “whisper” their discoveries about reality to the public to raise awareness on issues that are close to their hearts. So, keep your ears to the ground for whisperings from these inspiring, dedicated artists.
More information: www.brognon-rollin.com