BUBBLE GILDING BY PHILIPINE VINKE

Bubble Gilding: Long Term Value Creation versus Bubbles

What Adds Value? And how do we create it?

 

We all live inside our own bubble. Omnipresent as bubbles are, we hardly notice them. If we do, we prefer not to pop. We love our bubbles and to enhance their importance, we gild them.

 

BubbleGilding is a technique I started developing in 2014. Every piece contains 24 carat gold leaf, pure pigments, bubbles, as well as faux gold leaf and epoxy. I integrate modern materials, such as epoxy, with old techniques, such as water gilding and verre églomisé.

 

Core themes centre around specific social constructs I call ‘bubbles’. Powerful examples are national flags, the monetary system and paradoxes in (lack of) transparency in public and private lives.

 

What do you see? Can you see the bubbles, can you see through them?  Do you prefer transparency or opaqueness? What is 'real gold' and what isn't? Which do you prefer? Why?

 

 

I believe the monetary system is one of the biggest bubbles.  More examples are the "Nation State”, “Transparency”, “Reflectiveness’, and their “Paradoxes.”. These themes are combined in my BubbleGilding pieces.

 

I am to create long term value through art and add value to my art. My pieces are internationally held in private collections.

 

 

"BubbleGilding" is a registered Trade Mark.

 

 

BubbleGilding Originals: 

The 2014-2016 series:

Since I work on the flip side of the resin frame which is cast in a mould first, it is impossible for me check the outcomes of my actions on side A. My works are interesting on both side A and side B and can be displayed and hung on both sides. The result is a layered transparent wall object which can be mounted by using four spacers.

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"Obsolete Ego's"

(2017-present)

Obsolete Egos are made from recycled European mirrors. Since part of their reflective surfaces have been removed, these mirrors represent both the reflective side of humanity as well as its transparency. The colourful opaqueness of the epoxies complete the viewer’s brain-freeze, as the eye cannot comprehend the pairing of the see-through glass with a shiny surface. Do we need an Ego? And if so, what for? Do you reflect? What do you see?

Some mirrors are lovingly gifted to me. Others I buy on eBay or in charity shops. They come from bridal stores and attics. I polish them, because they are beautiful, and they are worth to be made transparent.

 

Useless Bowls

(2017-present)

These objects came about through multiple factors.

First there was the joy of casting epoxy from freehand; a technique I discovered while experimenting with my “Welcome Pennants”. It was a true Eureka-moment when I discovered the free casted puddle of epoxy could be formed 3D halfway into the polymering process.

Even the supplier of the material is stunned by this unknown application of the material.

 

The initial impression is usually that the objects are made of glass – its lightness surprises.

The Bowls are useless. They will scratch at any usage. Most of them have impractical holes.

They simply “are”.

The very first useless bowl was chipped during its inaugural exhibition. The chip showed me our innate need to touch, feel and explore. The chip is now reconnected, and the mend is visually obvious. The bowl is now even more useless.

 

 

​Welcome Pennants

(2015-present)

Welcome Pennants are flown on Dutch flagpoles whenever the national flag is not flown. They are a welcoming symbol. Most of my pennants are from ‘imaginary countries where I’d feel welcome’. Whom do we welcome? Who can stay? Who must leave? Why? I am introducing special pennants for my debut at the First Armenia Art Fair.  This special 3-piece pennant in the national Armenian colours is a joint gift from Duarte Online Gallery and myself to the Fair.

 

 

ArtMirrors

(2017-present)

My first Artmirror ever was a minimalist execution of “Obsolete Ego’s”. An intimidating 2 squared metres mirror (see “shards of happiness”) was obtained from a bridal shop. The transparency in the form of beautiful circular drops was serendipishly discovered by making this piece: I simply did not have enough material to create more transparency. This drop-like outcome inspired me to work with aluminium drops on the front side of the mirror. I obtained these splashes from the factory floor of a local aluminium melting installation.  A touch of gold-leaf completed the work.

 

At the premiere viewing, I obtained feedback from my audience. The work was received with a mission: the public challenged me to create smaller ArtMirrors in this style; to proof mirrors in houses can be beautiful, without the need of having them framed.  

 

Shards of Happiness

(2018)

The installation “Shards of happiness” originated when my largest artwork fell off a gallery wall, 5 days after its first display. The artwork measured over two squared meters. (See “ArtMirrors”). At that time, I was exhibiting with ceramist Harmke Zwep, whose labour also creates a lot of shards. „Shards bring happiness and good fortune”, according to a Dutch proverb. Therefore, people are invited to pick up a shard of the installation which organically alters the installation changing it as time passes. During previous displays, people were inspired to share beautiful every day stories of health, wealth, happiness and sorrow. Often people chose to gift their piece to a loved one in need of good fortune. “Every pick up comes with a personal story. Each time I am amazed by the intimacy of my audience”.