Kristina de Coninck /  Textile Sculptures

"My love for wool is simple.I always loved it when my mother and grandmother knitted, and I learned the basics of knitting early on in grade school. I marveled at this invention and its many characteristics. Aside from its comforting softness, this natural material can create many kinds of volumes and forms. This is also true of cotton, linen and silk. Often I will combine different materials with wire, wood or other things. I love to give a second life to textiles and things that inspire me, and often I will spend a long time observing and dreaming about them. The time that passes between the idea and the making is sometimes frustrating, but in the end the patience and the waiting are worth it. I am always searching for originality, and I have no fear in deconstructing and reconstructing my pieces. This allows me to discover how infinitely generous the materials can be. I feel that my choice of materials will grow in time. I am happy when I start and concentrate on the creative process.That is the most important thing."

Selma Cheddadi / Paintings

"Transparency, visible brushstrokes, drips—these are gestures of tenderness for me. They are a way of conveying the sensation of touch, of a caress. These are sensual paintings, but their sensuality is gentle, almost silent. I also wanted to portray a form of masculinity that escapes the demands of virile performance. These men are not effeminate; they are simply masculine in a different way—without display, without hardness. At a time saturated with discussions of toxic masculinity, I feel it is important to remind us that tenderness is also possible. I love men, and I have no hesitation in saying so or in painting them."

Kristina de Coninck

Salma Cheddadi