Nacre, 2026

oil on linen

I have been thinking a lot about the idea of creating something with a sea shell since I was exploring sea urchins. I was fascinated by their tough exterior, repulsive, contrasting their vulnerable and soft interior. At the same time I was looking back in art history, thinking about how we define beauty, as well as how the female was portrayed. I am not interested in rejecting beauty, but in questioning it and reshaping the body from something that looks more decorative into something more fluid. Unlike other colors, flesh is never fixed. It changes with light and temperature. The multiple hues of pearl, for me, are like the color of flesh: hard to define and constantly changing. Through this process I started creating Nacre, working freely and exploring how I can shape the bodies as a landscape shifting and dissolving.