Jean-Francois Le Minh

In the poem Ithaca, Kavafis outlines a metaphor for the importance of the process, or of the journey freed from destiny and the expectations we have about it. Ithaca is a pretext that puts the elements for the transformation to occur.

Don’t expect Ithaca to give you many riches.

Ithaca has already given you a fine voyage;

without Ithaca you would never have parted.

For the plastic artist, the transformation occurs by manipulating the material elements that are the protagonists of his art, and surrendering to the winds of experimentation, close your eyes and trust the processes that guide your candle.

In his process Jean-Francois navigates the markets of Mexico City, where the coexistence between plastic and organic products becomes the inspiration of a tactile relationship. A silicone mold can be the next potential tool, or the outline of a kitchen gloves line the drawing that starts a new paint. A sort of categorization of the chaos that reigns the market is necessary, and when arriving at its study the canvas becomes the agent of the order. Without trying to name what happens in the picture, between forms that become independent of their origin, the discourse is written behind the footsteps of the process. The return to Ithaca is intuited, but never concrete, with another visit to the market the ship sails again.

— PLOMO