It´s been just two years today since I did this.
I live in Ibiza and don´t really go for the nightlife side of it.
I had a friend who very sadly passed away last year in Spring Robert Miles, he was quite a well known DJ and lived here in Ibiza. (had a very famous track that made it in the 90s called Children). I wasn´t into his deejaying but he had a great taste for music beyond the techno, and above all a very special person.
He was running a radio station that was part of a much larger project called Openlab where he wanted to create collaborations between artist of many disciplines. He always believed in my work and was very kind to promote me.
Anyway, he organised a summer of special nights in a club named Heart and wanted artists he promoted to paint live while DJ´s or bands would play that he also produced.
When ha asked me to do this, at first I said this was really not my thing, I couldn´t picture myself doing this for 4 hours in a night club with super loud techno.
He convinced me. It was very well payed and I needed the money to travel so I did put myself through the experience.
In reality it was good, very worth it for one´s collection of diverse experiences.
Here is a text I wrote to Robert to explain what went on while I painted that piece.
There is always a time while
painting and going with the flow of the shapes that come through from the first
phase, that I try to undestand may be one of the possible messages from the
subconscious. In this case as I was painting I kept seeing water and as I was
conditioned by the place and situation I was in I asked myself what whould I
like to communicate with my painting. I then thought I would love to show
people to have great respect and gratitude to the spring water we have left in
Ibiza and that is now so scarce. To have all our visitors respect the water and
not waste it. I then saw holes in the water, and the kind of plant going
through the center of the painting was searching for water and kept finding its
holes. This plant then developed its
blossom as small water deposits to help it though the droughts.
This painting is called “The holes in the
water”
Here are some photos from the evening, by Salim Lamrani
This is how the painting ended up being.. just 4 hours of work. It was white canvas when I started.
A few pics of the surroundings.
And... Roberto... he left too soon! This is how I remember him, Great pic by his friend Salim Lambrani.
Best Wishes