SECRET EXCHANGES FROM 1875 TO 2011

Collage A4, will travel also to Australia. Why 1875? Because the graphical images I used and put together comes from the magazine "European Illustrations" edition of 1875. Amazing: what are the main topics in that zine? War, murder, dead, natural disasters annd some trivia, our news in 2011 is an echo of 1875. Nothing had changed or has it? The huge canon was not an imaginary one but the latest technology (in 1875) of the Krupp factories in Germany, yeah, the same bastards that supported Hitler and the concern was never dismantled after WW II. Oh boy, I'm going to amuse me more with this type of graphical material, I can assure you!

I'M IN LOVE WITH A COBRA

Intervention on a large mail art envelope with an empty space for remarks, for the "Secrets exchange" project. This envelope will tarvel to a contemporary art museum in Australia.

MEET SOME OF MY ANCESTORS!

Intervention on a large mail art envelope mailed to Margaret Founds in the USA

LE CHARME DISCRET DU CAPITALISME SAUVAGE AKA ENFIN DENUDES: LES SECRETS DE LA BOURSE DE CHARLEROI AKA SAINT MARX PRIEZ POUR NOUS!

Collage A4 with graphic material from French magazines from around 1890.
Mailed to Thierry Tillier in Belgium for his project on culture and industrialization, Charleroi 1911-2011.
Small funny detail: the image is not of the stock exchange market in Charleroi but that from Antwerp (only Belgians will understand the irony of the situation..)

LA DESTRUCTION DES OISEAUX

Collage A4 with graphic material from French magazines from around 1890.
Mailed to Sofie Vangor in Belgium.

UNE SAISON EN ENFER

Intervention on a large mail art envelope, mailed to Sofie Vangor in Belgium.
The title refers to one of the major works of the French poet Arthur Rimbaud.

WE ARE ALL POTATOE HEADS IN A SHORT SIGHTED OCEAN

Intervention on a mail art envelope for the CABANA DOS PARODIANTES project proposed by Helder Coelho Dias in Portugal. Starting point is the book "Jangada de Pedra" by José Saramago. The painting is accompanied by an open letter in French to the deceased writer, translated into Portuguese by my buddy Matthias, waiter in the popular Grelha restaurant of my neighborhood.
Doc on the blog http://cabanamailartproject.blogspot.com

26 April 1986 - 26 April 2011: 25 years of zombies in Tchernobyl

Intervention on a large mail art envelope, for the project "the living dead" proposed by "I'm a superhero" in the USA. Because we started an email exchange on IUOMA on April 26 and this is the tragic anniversary of the nuclear disaster I thought it was apt to link zombies to that "event".
For those who are still in doubt: Fukushima is worse than Tchernobyl !!!

ANN, I'M LIVING IN THE SHADOW OF YOUR SMILE

Ann continues to inspire me, even in darkness (hihi).
For info on my current mail art project, visit http://thebookofann.blogspot.com
Mailed to David Stone in the USA

THE BLACKBIRD ACROBATS OF THE MIDDLE EAST

Large painted envelope for the "Blackbird project" mailed to David Stone in the USA.

THE REBELLION OF CHARLES OF FLANDERS, PRINCE-REGENT OF BELGIUM

Large painted envelope for Anke van den Berg's project on "the king". This painting is linked with what we call "fatherland history" (hihi).
Okay, for the lazy ones amongst you. Leopold III, 4th king of Belgium, did not follow the government in exile in England during world war 2. After the war this was seen as treason by a part of the political establishment and the population. A rebellious general strike broke out against the return of the king and this could have meant the end of the monarchy. In the meantime Charles became the prince-regent. Charles was the rebel of the family and also a gifted artist. The monarchy saved its skin by the abdication of Leopold III in favour of his young son Baudhuin I.
The royal family never forgave Charles and he became a persona non grata in his own circles. This is my personal salute to "Karel van Vlaanderen"!

VISIONS OF LITTLE OWL

A small painted envelope mailed to Bill Meng in Thailand.

THE BROKEN WINDOW LIVES AGAIN

A small painted envelope mailed to Cernjul Viviana Maria in Argentina.

ONCE UPON A TIME IN CRETE

A small painted envelope I mailed to Georgia Grigoriadou in Greece.

I WONDER IF THOSE WERE THE DAYS OF LIGHT AND THUNDER

A small painted envelope I mailed to Mavromatis Kalliopi in Greece.

BEYOND THE DREAM OF THE MASK

Small painted envelope and its mirror image; surrounded by additional remarks on a larger envelope, mailed to Frank Dingenen in Belgium.

ANN, WHERE ARE YOU?

Small painted envelope mailed to Nikki Castillo in the Philippines.

A STORM IS COMING VERY SOON !

Small painted envelope, surrounded by additional remarks on a larger envelope, mailed to De Villo Sloan in the USA.

A LA RECHERCHE DU TEMPS PERDU

A small painted envelope I mailed to Roger Dewint in Brussels. Next to the reference to Marcel Proust it's also a reflexion on the "temps perdu" to make the painting (3 days of labour for a postcard size envelope, what a waste!)

L'ADORATION DE LA SAINTE INDUSTRIALISATION

Collage A4, kind of sequel to the Scream 1892 collage for Robert Varlez, mailed to Jo Hubert in Belgium.

TO THE LIGHTHOUSE !

A personal tribute to the novel by Virginia Woolf.
Collage A4 mailed to David Stone in the USA.

SCREAM 1892

Subtitle: "La lutte impitoyable contre la bête humaine appelé INDUSTRIALISATION"
Collage A4, though linked with the Charleroi project of Thierry Tiller, this is work I made for my friend Robert Varlez.
"La bête humaine" is also a well known novel from Emile Zola (published around 1890).

JUSTICE? QUELLE JUSTICE? LA JUSTICE A L'ENVERS?

Collage A4 and its mirror image, made for Jack Ross in Belgium.

BURY MY HEART AT WOUNDED KNEE

A tribute to the book by Dee Brown.
Collage A4
Funny detail: image of the big staircase in the palace of justice in Brussels, Belgium.
Mailed in May 2011 to Zois and Lynn Jr in the USA.

REVOLUTION IN THE AIR OR THE BEGGAR KNOCKING ON THE ROOF OF THE PALACE OF THE KING

Subtitle: Even in those days they thought that surveillance cameras were the answer to every situation

Collage A4 made for the project "The king" proposed by Anke van den Berg in Belgium.

UN DROLE DE CONTE

Postcard collage I made for Georgia Grigoriadou in Greece.

GUIDO & GINGER

An add & pass & return collage postcard size, from Ginger Mayerson to Guido Vermeulen to Ginger Mayerson.

THE BLUE MADONNA

Large painted envelope with woodglue, ink & water colours.
Mailed to Marni Zainodin in Malaysia.

THROUGH THE EYE OF THE NEEDLE

Small painted envelope mailed to Suet in Hong Kong.

YES, I LISTEN TO TRIBAL VOICES !

Small painted envelope, surrounded by additional remarks on a larger envelope, mailed to Cuan Miles in South Africa.

THE RETURN OF THE HIRED MOURNERS

Small painted envelope mailed to Daniel de Culla in Spain.

SO YOU THINK YOU ARE SMART !?

Small painted envelope mailed to Ginger Mayerson in the USA.

EMPATHY FOR THE DEVILS

Small painted envelope mailed to Rod Summers in The Netherlands.

DO YOU DREAM IN OCHRE?

Small painted envelope, because Cheryl Penn said on IUOMA she liked this so much I reserved this for her but incorporated it into a larger work, added some additional remarks on "do you dream in Ochre"? Yes, I know, I have a huge debt to pay to Pierre Alechinsky but if you take a model, I always thought why limit yourself and choose the best model possible! Merci Pierre and all the post Cobra artists continuing to work in the same spirit, with the same energy. I have no problem recognizing I'm part of that movement...

AAN TAFEL! KOMEN ETEN! DINNER IS SERVED!

A painting I made with ink & coffee & watercolours, woodglue mixed with white pepper powder, red chili powder, coriander powder, cinamon powder, some white sesame seeds and some black mustard seeds. So the painting has a lot of texture and smells deliciously.
I mailed this painting in June to Robe Grant in Australia.

THE BLUEST EYE

Intervention on a small standard envelope I mailed to Constança Lucas in Brazil, second contribution to her project "mail art inspired by books".
This time I choose Toni Morrison's first novel "The bluest eye".

WAAR IS DE VEERMAN VROEG DE WEERVROUW

Intervention on a small standard envelope I mailed to Inge in The Netherlands.

CHARLEROI, VILLE FANTOME QUI CHAUFFE LES SOURIS DE LA NON IMAGINATION DES MAISONS DU PEUPLE INDUSTRIEL

Large painted envelope for the Charleroi project of Thierry Tillier, see also next item on this blog.

ET PENDANT CE TEMPS DANS UNE FERME A CHARLEROI LE TROUBLE LUI INSPIRE

A new collage I made for the project Industry & Culture, Charleroi 1911-2011.
This project is proposed by Thierry Tillier who lives in Charleroi, Belgim and documented on the blog http://charleroi1911-2011.blogspot.com

TRIBUTE TO NORMA JEAN BAKER AKA MARILYN MONROE

A new collage I made for the Marilyn Monroe project proposed by Valentine Mark Herman, a British artist living in France.

RANDOM, WHILE LISTENING TO THE MUSIC OF JOHN CAGE

A small painted envelope for the tribute project to John Cage, proposed by Rodolfo Torres in Uruguay.
Doc on the blog http://www.2011cage.blogspot.com